Demon and the Beast
by Random Inspiration
Summary: The Titans return from Tokyo. Aside from Robin and Starfire being an official couple, everything is back to normal (as normal as a superhero life gets)…right? Not quite.
1. Evolution

**Title: Demon and the Beast**

**Summary: **_**The Titans return from Tokyo. Aside from Robin and Starfire being an official couple, everything is back to normal (as normal as a superhero life gets)…right? Not quite. **_

**Disclaimer: **_**Teen Titans is the creation of other brilliant minds, I don't own it. Nuff said.**_

**Author's Notes: 1) Read and enjoy, and please review! Reviews that say you like it are nice, but reviews that say **_**why**_** you like it are better.**

**2.) I like to include a big thank you to Raven'sWinterRaine, who was my Beta for this story.**

**3.) Timeline wise this was written as **_**Trouble in Tokyo **_**followed **_**Things Change**_**. **

_**POTENTIAL SPOILER**_**: For the record, I don't hate Terra. I actually take some pity on her for what she went through. The way I use her in the story is mainly because I think it serves as an interesting twist in the plotline. Similarly I changed a few things from the canon facts to suit the story (like the background of Beast Boy's parents' death and his resulting journey after that). I only ask you give it a chance to see how it works in the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Evolution**

It was late morning at the Titan Tower. Behind the couch were mountains of empty pizza boxes. In front of the couch were two pizzas, one meat supreme and one five cheese blend. On the couch, Cyborg and Beast Boy were engaged in a competition.

"Oh-yeah, come on baby!" Cyborg shouted at his video game fighter on the big screen.

"No…no…no…arrrrrrrgh!" responded Beast Boy as he attempted to get his fighter away from the screen's edge. It was futile.

"BOO-YAH! Chalk up another one to the video game masta!"

"You've been playing all week since we got back from Tokyo. It's been my week for dishes, so I haven't had the time. I'm a bit rusty."

"Well then, maybe we should go another round. Get you back up to speed."

"Rematch? It is so…" Beast Boy was cut off by the communication alert flashing on the screen. Cyborg quickly hit the answer button and Bumblebee appeared on screen.

"Sorry to hit you guys up so soon after getting back from Tokyo, but there's been a massive jailbreak."

Cyborg got right up off the couch. "Where?"

"Easy Sparky, we don't know where any of them are right now. I'm just sending out an information update. The jailbreak was from the Brotherhood of Evil's last known base."

Beast Boy quipped, "Someone unfroze all of them?"

"Actually, the Brain, Monsignor Mallah, General Immortus, and Madam Rouge are still there, frozen stiff. Everyone else is gone."

Cyborg raised his eyebrow. "Wait a second, didn't Tramm and me install Warnings and non-deadly booby traps to keep people out of there. Plus security sensors, video surveillance, and a few still cameras in case someone got through all that and went into the freezer room?"

"Yes, you did. But, the intruder got through it all without tripping one trap or sensor. All the video surveillance was destroyed."

Beast Boy asked, "And the still cameras?"

"All broken, except the one hidden inside the chiller. The picture is too fuzzy from the ice bending the light rays. Whoever this character is, he or she has a lot of skill. If Young Flash hadn't been taking a 'stroll' through the base, we might have never found out."

Cyborg uttered, "Light Adjustment Program."

Beast Boy and Bumblebee stared at Cyborg.

"I've been experimenting with light bending for the windshield of the T-Car to cut down or redirect glare while chasing down a villain. I've been using a program to digitally simulate reflection angles and the resulting images. The same principles could apply here. We digitally bend the light in reverse to recreate the image. It won't be a pretty picture, but it might be enough to identify this creep." Cyborg walked over to the communication screen opened the drawer with the keyboard. "I'm sending you the program now. It might take a bit of time to filter out the glare, but you should be able to get a clear picture by the end of tomorrow."

"Thanks, I get back to you as soon as I have information." Bumblebee reached for off button but stopped. "Are you two the only ones in the Tower?"

"No. Robin and Starfire are enjoying some quality time in town, but Raven is meditating in her room," Beast Boy replied as he grabbed another slice of cheese pizza. He paused as he was about to take a bite. "That's odd; she should have been here by now after hearing the communication alarm."

Cyborg's whole body silently expressed a terrified HIGHEEEEEE behind Beast Boy. Quickly regaining his composure, he stuttered, "I answered pretty quickly, so maybe she didn't hear it. She can get pretty focused when she's meditating."

"I don't know," Beast Boy said rubbing his chin. "I'll head over to her room and see if she's okay. At worst, she'll just get irritated at me again." The green hero turned and started to walk toward the living room's exit.

Cyborg looked like he was having a mental breakdown, dancing in one place, and mumbling to himself. "Think…think…think." He leaped over the couch and caught Beast Boy by the shoulder. "I've got a better idea. Everyone's been in such a good mood since we got back, we shouldn't cause any unnecessary…irritation. Instead, you head over to the garage. We'll take the T-Car out to the Jump City Dirt Track and I'll let you race her for a few hours."

"All Sweet, you mean it?!"

Cyborg felt like choking on his tongue. "Yeah"

Beast Boy vroomed right by his best friend. Cyborg let out a relieved sigh.

"Um, Sparky, what was that all about?"

Cyborg turned to face the screen. "If my heart makes it through what he's about to do to my car, you owe me big time for making Beast Boy think about Raven."

Bumblebee raised her left eyebrow.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Cyborg explained. "This is going to sound strange, but… Raven pulled me aside this morning right after Robin and Starfire left. She said she needed someone to keep Beast Boy distracted so he wouldn't notice that she had left the tower to take care of something."

"Of something?"

"She said she would tell me after Robin and Starfire got back today. I have a hunch and if I'm right, I really don't want to be the one who ruins it and gets her mad."

"What's your hunch?"

"Well tomorrow is-"

"Hey Cyborg! Which Garage Stall was the T-Car in again?"

"It's the one closest to the Tower entrance." Turning back to the screen, Cyborg said nervously. "Sorry Bumblebee, gotta run bye." Cyborg disconnected the communication and dashed for the garage.

* * *

Robin pulled his motorcycle into the Tower's garage and unclipped his helmet. Starfire uncurled her arms from around Robin's waist.

"So that is what they call joy riding?" asked Starfire.

Robin hopped off the bike. "It sure is. It's nice riding around town not chasing after some crazed villain or henchman."

"It was nice."

Robin grabbed Starfire's hand as the couple began to walk through the garage stalls. They reached the stall closest to the entrance. "Looks like Cyborg took the T-Car for a spin too," observed Robin. _If Beast Boy went with him, things will be pretty mellow here until they get back._

The pair stepped into the lounge area and heard rummaging sounds coming from the pantry. Starfire's hands went straight to her mouth. "Oh, no, Silkie must have gotten loose again." She quickly went around the counter only to find…Raven halfway inside a bottom cupboard, going through the pots and pans. "Have you lost something, friend?"

After backing out of the cupboard, Raven turned to face the red haired beauty. "Have you seen the cake pan?"

Robin by this point had stepped around the counter and stood behind his hovering girlfriend. "Why are you looking for a cake pan?"

"To bake a cake," replied Raven in her usual monotone voice.

Robin's face looked as if his mind had just exploded. Starfire however, cheerfully joined in on the search. As she checked the top cupboards, Starfire asked, "This pan we are searching for, it is the device Cyborg or Robin have used to create the numerous pieces of sweet bread for the various celebration of birth?"

"Uh, yeah, that's the one."

As the girls searched and conversed, Robin meandered over to the bags on the kitchen counter. Peeking inside one, he saw a wax orange cat. He smirked as he started to see Raven's plan.

* * *

Cyborg wheeled out from underneath the T-Car inside Jump City Track's Garage. "There, the T-Car is now officially reassembled." Then turning toward Beast Boy, he shouted, "AND IT"S GOING TO STAY THAT WAY THIS TIME!"

"Okay Dude, I only totaled it ten times today. Besides I'm all raced out."

One big drop of sweat could be seen on Cyborg's face. _Yeah, ten times in FIVE HOURS_!

Beast Boy's stomach grumbled extremely loudly. "So as you drive us home, how's about stopping somewhere so we can get a bite to eat?"

"BB, the amount of food you've already eaten today is about how much I go through in a week. How are you still hungry? Actually, forget just being hungry. Your stomach is growling like you haven't eaten a thing all day. What's up?"

The green hero could only shrug.

"Just get in the car. I've got an idea as to where we can get you some food."

"Thanks Cy!"

As the duo reached the docks district of Jump City, Cyborg pulled in front of a new restaurant. Beast Boy got out of the car and read the title. "Food Kingdoms, hmmm, interesting title, but it's not open."

"Grand Opening is tonight. They started building while we were going around the world fighting the Brotherhood of Evil. The opening night campaign started while we were in Tokyo." Cyborg looked at the clock on his arm. "Should open in about fifteen minutes actually."

From behind them, someone shouted, "Hey, Shiny Head, is that you?"

Cyborg gritted his teeth as he thought, _yup right on time. Figured he show up here. If I play my cards right… _Cyborg turned around. "Hey Brad Fillerstein, I figured you'd be here."

Beast Boy looked at the young man Cyborg had addressed. He had lush blond hair, eyes as blue as the sky, and from his clothes one could tell he come from a very wealthy background. He was a shade taller than Cyborg and about as muscular built.

Brad condescendingly replied, "Of course, I may have been the second best athlete in our school after you before your…well you know, but I was always the best food eating champion. Even now I still beat you in that easily Shiny Head. But I have heard that you've been making quite the name for yourself as part of that superhero team."

Beast Boy started to speak. "Where do you get off calling my frie…" He was silenced by Cyborg's hand over his mouth.

"Allow me to introduce one of my compatriots. This is Beast Boy. Beast Boy, this guy is an old high school rival of mine, Brad Fillerstein." Cyborg took his hand off his friend's mouth.

"Nice to meet you," the green hero uttered as he stuck out his hand.

Shaking it, Brad replied, "The pleasure is all yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a challenge to issue."

"The usual one, Brad?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes, anytime a new restaurant or diner opens in this city, I take on any challenger in a food eating contest. The loser pays the bill for both parties."

"Both sides don't have to eat the same thing, and even if one side gives up or loses, the winner still eats until satisfied. Everything included on the bill."

"You remember well Shiny Head. I believed you've paid three of my bills this year so far. Care to try again? I always enjoy a free meal."

"I was wondering if you would try taking on my friend here."

Beast Boy interrupted, "But Cyborg, I've never beaten you in our food eating contests. How am I supposed to win against someone you can beat? I don't have the money to…"

"I accept," spoke the arrogant jock. "Now, pardon me. I need to go speak with the cook to inform them of who the challenger is." The blond strolled right on by.

Beast Boy then addressed his friend. "Cy, did you get your wires crossed or something?"

Cyborg handed in the sample menu in the newspaper ad that morning. "Come on BB, here, just look at the food selection."

_American Country, Italian Cuisine, Seafood Kingdom, _"VEGETARIANS PARADISE! Okay, Cyborg, I'll give it a shot."

"That's my man."

* * *

As the clocks in Titan Tower chimed eight times, Raven was partially reclined on the couch reading a book. Starfire and Robin were playing a card game at the dining table. It was Robin's turn. "So do you have any Quee-" He was interrupted by a faint scream. Dropping his cards on the table, he rushed to the window and opened it. Pulling a pair of binoculars out of his utility belt, he scoured the cove. He spotted the T-Car cruising back towards the island from the docks.

Cyborg and Beast Boy entered the lounge area. Robin quickly asked, "Did you two hear any screams?"

"An acquaintance of mine screamed a few minutes ago when he got the check after losing an eating contest."

"So, no one's in danger," added Beast Boy as he made his way over to the fridge. When he opened it, Cyborg blurted out.

"Dude, you're still HUNGRY! You consumed that restaurant's entire stock of food tonight."

"No I didn't. They still had plenty of meat in stock when I left. Besides, I don't feel like I'm starving anymore. I'm only getting a before bedtime snack. So…I'll start with this, and this, and oh a little bit of that, this looks great, plus some of this…" Within a minute, Beast Boy had a stack of food two feet high. He closed the refrigerator door with his foot. Seeing the cards on the table, he said, "I'll just snack on this in my room tonight. Have a goodnight everybody."

Robin tried to get his green friend's attention. "Beast Boy, I thought we agreed no more food…" The door to the lounge shut.

Cyborg put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Don't worry. There won't be a crumb left. He might even turn into a mouse and search for any crumbs leftover from before the 'no snacking in the bed areas' agreement."

"So Cyborg, you want to give us an update as to what's going on with Beast Boy then?"

"Sure thing Robin, but first…" Cyborg turned to face Raven. "Spill. What plans did you make for BB's surprise Birthday Party tomorrow?"

Starfire cut-in, "Is that what all the decorations and cake supplies were for earlier this afternoon?"

Raven nodded, "Yup."

Robin chimed in. "Well it's been just over two years since he hacked into the system to find out Raven's birthday, then the rest of our birthdays."

Starfire replied, "Yes, but Beast Boy was always to the person to plan these festive celebrations regarding our days of birth."

Cyborg spoke up. "Uh, Star, BB can't plan his own surprise birthday party. He planned all of ours, but we never did one for him last year because we were separated. Going around the world fighting the Brotherhood of Evil didn't exactly give us a chance to throw a good party."

Robin added, "Even so, Beast Boy took the initiative to plan all of our birthday parties again this year."

Cyborg turned away from Robin to face Raven. "Now, whatever you have planned, it had better be worth me letting him wreck the T Car 10 times today and exhausting my weekly pizza budget in three hours."

Raven pulled a piece of paper from the book she had been reading and handed it to Cyborg. Processing what he read and saw on the paper, Cyborg grinned ear to ear. "Okay, it was worth it. I just hope we make enough cake. He's eaten more food today than I usually eat in a week."

* * *

It was mid-morning the next day when Beast Boy yawned and stretched out on his bed. Cheerfully, he attempted to quickly sit up, but whacked his head on the ceiling and rolled out of the bed instead.

"Ow," he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his head. He looked up at the bed. _Nothing looks off; maybe I got up so quickly that I jumped a little off the bed. _A pleasant aroma started to fill the air. *sniff, sniff* "Hmm, something smells like Tofu Eggs and Bacon." Beast Boy got to his feet and headed out of his room towards the dining area.

The doors to the tower's main room opened for Beast Boy to reveal Cyborg cooking. The green hero's best friend didn't even face him to greet him.

"Mornin' BB,"

"Cy, are you actually cooking Tofu Eggs and Bacon?"

"I'm cooking it, but I ain't eating it. Figured a hot breakfast would make for a good apology."

"Apology for what?" asked Beast Boy as he starting walking forward. When he reached the first step, he heard a twang of the trip wire he just stepped on.

Cyborg now looked over the back of his shoulder with a mischievous grin. "Your birthday prank."

Panels opened up in the floor around Beast Boy. In seconds he was standing in the middle of a contraption that held multiple cans of whipped cream. The birthday boy was now covered head to toe in whipped cream.

"Booyah, Operation: Birthday Prank is a success."

Beast Boy licked the topping off his face. "Good one Cy, but that better be some great tofu eggs and bacon.

From behind Beast Boy, Starfire and Robin appeared and shouted, "Surprise!" as a birthday banner unrolled and hung from the ceiling.

Startled, Beast Boy did a slight hop. Being covered in whipped cream, he lost traction and fell on his butt.

"Maybe you should try cleaning up first," Raven commented dryly.

Beast Boy changed into a dog and shook off all the whipped cream, splattering all his friends in the process.

As the topping dripped off Robin's face, he said, "We probably asked for that."

Beast Boy changed back into his normal form. "I'd say so, but how about that Tofu…why is everyone staring at me like I have two heads?"

Robin spoke first, "Have you looked in a mirror today?"

"No, why? Come on guys, what's going on? Wait, this is just another prank isn't it? I see. You're trying to mess with my head now." Beast Boy poked his head with his pointer finger for emphasis.

Raven walked over and tapped Beast Boy on the shoulder. He turned to face her and tilted his head to look slightly down. Raven asked, "Get it now?"

"Umm…no, I don't."

Raven sighed. "Your uniform isn't covering all of you arms, legs, and torso anymore."

"Oh, so you guys shrunk my clothes as a prank."

Raven shook her head. "Think, my head only reaches up to your neck. You're looking down at me."

Cyborg cut in. "BB, I think you had the fastest of all growth spurts last night. Guess that's where all that food went to."

Beast Boy looked over himself for the first time that day. "Whoa, I gained a few inches last night huh. I guess that's why I hit my head on the ceiling this morning." Raven started to open her mouth to use more of her dry wit, but Beast Boy cut her off as he spoke to the whole group. "Guess, I'll get a bigger outfit later but first…" He rushed over to the dining area. "…it's time for some fresh tofu and eggs. I'm starving." In seconds, Beast Boy had finished the meal Cyborg had prepared and was at the fridge looking for more food.

Raven muttered to the rest of the Titans. "I don't think he's done growing if he's eating like that."

Cyborg whispered to Robin, "Hey man, exactly how much do we have left on this month's food budget?"

"Living expense wise, we usually wind up way under budget. So we should be okay with the amount saved over these past few years." Beast Boy closed the fridge with a stack of food five feet high in his arms. Robin gulped. "I hope."

Raven spoke up. "Maybe we should eat some ourselves, while we still have some food to eat."

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and proceeded over to the dining area.

* * *

When the team had almost finished breakfast the communication alert went off. The Titans quickly went over to the main screen. Bumblebee once again appeared.

"Hey everyone. Speedy just finished working on that photo I told you about yesterday."

"What photo?" Robin queried.

"You didn't tell them?" Bumblebee asked Cyborg, slightly peeved.

"A lot of stuff's gone down since then." Cyborg turned to Robin. "In short, someone unfroze every villain, except the leaders of the Brotherhood of Evil yesterday. They've been working on figuring out who did it while we wait for them to resurface."

Robin looked up at Bumblebee. "Okay, so we know who did it now."

The leader of Titans East nodded. "You're not going to like it." She brought the picture up on screen.

Robin clenched his fists. "Slade! What's he up to now?"

"I wish I could tell, but I don't know either. You should probably expect an increase in activity though in the next few weeks." The trouble alarm sounded.

"Or starting now," replied Robin. "Titans, let's move."

* * *

"This is like computer chip heaven," said a giddy Gizmo as he rummaged through a drawer of experimental microchips. "Yes, these should work perfectly."

"Planning on making an electronic jail cell for a new home," spoke Robin from the doorway behind the midget villain.

Gizmo squinted as he turned to face his adversaries. "None of your business." He activated his wings and began his escape attempt by flying towards the ceiling. Starfire cut off his path.

"You -" The wall behind Starfire busted open. As the dust settled, Cinderblock appeared. Gizmo took the opportunity to fly through the opening.

"So long, suckers."

"He's getting away," yelled Cyborg.

"Not if I can help it," said Beast Boy right before he changed into a hawk to chase after Gizmo. Before he could exit in pursuit, he was swatted down by Cinderblock and crashed into the ground. "Ugh, not one of my better efforts," the green hero uttered as he rubbed his head.

"Let's just take care of this one first," ordered Robin.

"Hey Robin!" called Cyborg as he cocked his Sonic Canon.

Robin nodded and pulled out an explosion disk. The duo rushed towards their foe and attempted the Sonic Boom attack. It was a direct hit, but Cinderblock charged out at them from the smoke, completely unfazed by the attack. He let out a roar as he swung his arms at the duo. Cyborg and Robin dived towards opposites sides. As Cinderblock turned to his left to attack Robin, he was met with a bombardment of energy blasts from Starfire and wall debris being flung by Raven.

The stone enemy appeared to have been forced to a knee by the bombardment, but soon rose after it had stopped. As soon as Cinderblock rose to his feet, he was rammed from behind by a Rhino Beast Boy. The shape shifter quickly changed into an ankylosaurus and swung his clubbed tail, knocking the enemy to the ground. Beast Boy changed back to his usual form, and went down to one knee. He was breathing heavily, sweating profusely, and clearly exhausted.

Robin shouted, "Beast Boy, are you okay?"

"Just a little tired for some reason."

Suddenly, Cinderblock got to his feet and backhanded Beast Boy, who went flying into the closest wall. His body whiplashed upon impact and he fell unconscious to the ground. Cinderblock marched towards his fallen foe. Right before he stomped on him, Raven come through the floor, encompassed her friend in her cloak, and phased through the wall behind them. As soon as Cinderblock's foot hit the ground, Cyborg delivered a power punch to his cheek, followed by an immediate uppercut to the chin. From there he proceeded to pummel Cinderblock with an array of jabs and punches.

Cinderblock started to back up from the force of the attack. As Cyborg continued his offensive, Robin shouted, "Cyborg, Sonic Boom Redux!"

"Read you loud and clear." Cyborg jumped up, brought his hands together and swung down, connecting at the top of the tall villain's head. As Cyborg landed, he took a huge windup and delivered an uppercut, sending Cinderblock into the air. He quickly followed that with a hyper-jump to get in the air above his opponent. As soon as he left the ground, Robin threw a handful of explosive mines onto the ground. When Cinderblock began to fall back down, Cyborg activated his Sonic Canon and blasted the villain from above. The blast not only hit his foe, but it set off the mines below. The impact from the explosions above and below knocked Cinderblock unconscious as the villain fell to the ground.

Cyborg landed soon after that. "Finally, this blockhead is always a pain."

Robin walked on up, "Especially since he's always just the muscle. He won't know anything of the plan that incorporates those chips."

Starfire chimed in, "We should go and check on our friend."

Robin and Cyborg nodded in agreement. After putting Cinderblock in some restraints for the authorities, they went through the hole he had made in the wall. Looking to around, they saw Raven kneeling beside and healing Beast Boy to their right. As they approached, Robin asked, "How is he?"

"He's pretty bruised, but nothing broken."

Beast Boy groaned a bit as he regained consciousness. Raven stopped her healing as he sat up. "So, did we get him?"

Cyborg answered, "We got Cinderblock. Gizmo got away for now."

Robin then suggested, "Beast Boy, why don't you, Raven, and Cyborg head back to the tower. Starfire and I can wait here until the police arrive to take Cinderblock away."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Beside we have to finish your birthday party sometime."

Cyborg then teased, "I think we'll skip the birthday punches though."

Beast Boy stood up. "I appreciate that." He started walking to the T-Car.

Starfire asked her friends, "Will he be alright?"

Cyborg shouted at Beast Boy, "BB, how old are you today anyways?"

Beast Boy turned back towards his friends. Rubbed his chin for a moment and smiled like he was about to tell a joke. "That depends; do you want it in human years? Dog years? Number of lifetimes for a fly? ..." He droned on as he walked, changing into each animal as he mentioned it.

Raven stood up and dryly answered Starfire, "I think he'll be just fine."

* * *

Beast Boy sarcastically commented, "Very funny guys." He stared at his birthday cake. Delicious looking, but instead for one candle for each year, his friends had used one candle on top the cake. The wax candle depicted a well-known comic strip orange cat. The orange cat was none other than Garfield.

Cyborg replied, "We had planned on having vegetarian lasagna tonight too, but you've already eaten all the ingredients today."

Beast Boy sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

"Just blow out the candle already," commented Raven.

Immediately after the birthday boy blew out the candle, Cyborg took to cutting the cake and dishing out pieces. Beast Boy continued his tremendous consumption rate of the past couple days.

After finishing her piece of cake, Starfire asked, "Beast Boy, are you going through something similar to my Chrysalis experience?"

Beast Boy swallowed the enormous amount of food in his mouth. "I don't know. There isn't any precedent I can look at to get an idea of what is going on." A hint of concern could be heard in Beast Boy's voice at the end of his answer. _Hopefully it's not going to lead to problems with that thing inside me. I don't have any issues with it now, but if something is becoming unstable…_

"Maybe tomorrow we could run some tests and get an idea of what's going on inside you. Worse that could happen is we know nothing more than we do now," suggested Robin.

Beast Boy stared at his open hand for a moment then closed it. "Yeah, looking into it is probably a good idea."

The atmosphere had changed from a celebratory mood to an awkward one. Beast Boy quickly finished the remainder of his food and took his dishes over to the sink. He yawned and stretched. "I think I'm going to turn it in early tonight. Goodnight everybody."

The other Titans responded with their various evening farewells.

As Beast Boy rested in bed, his mind contemplated what was happening to him. _I didn't want the others to worry, but I know something inside me is changing. I don't know how I know or even what is changing, but something is going on. I feel it. I just hope I'm still me at the end of it._

* * *

The next morning, Beast Boy carefully slid out of his bed so he wouldn't hit his head. He promptly got dressed into an outfit that was modified to fit his new length. Looking in mirror for a moment, he checked to see if there were any noticeable differences from the previous day. _It doesn't look like anything has changed. _He walked down to the main room. He went to the cupboard to get some cereal. _I don't feel as hungry today as I've been lately. Still more than usual, but I don't feel like I'm starving. Hopefully that's a good sign. _As he was in the middle of eating his third bowl, Cyborg and Robin came into the room. Cyborg spoke first.

"How are you feeling today BB?"

After drinking some soy milk, he replied, "Okay, I guess."

"You ready to get started?" asked Robin.

"Just let me finish this bowl." A few minutes later, he got up from the table.

"Well, let's get this started." Beast Boy followed his two friends into the health bay.

Cyborg gave the initial instructions. "Just lay down on the bed and I'll do a preliminary scan. We'll compare it to previous scans we have on file. That should be a good start to see if anything's changed."

Beast Boy nodded and rested on the bed. The few minutes that passed by as

Cyborg processed the scans on the computer felt like an eternity to Beast Boy.

"Okay, I think I found something."

Beast Boy got up off the bed and walked over to the computer. Cyborg pulled up three different images on the screen.

"The image on the left is what your cells usually looked like. The image in the center shows what they did look like while you were infected with that chemical that messed with your and Adonis's DNA that one time. Notice how the inside is the exact same, but there was an additional layer created because of the chemical."

Beast Boy's concern was evident. "So my cells are turning back into that?"

"No. I just wanted to show you the difference between the temporary change then and change that is currently happening." Cyborg pointed to the third screen. "Notice, there's no additional layer to your cells like in the second picture. But, the structure seems to be changing from the first picture. The data shows two trends. The first is somehow your body is actually creating new chromosome pairs and cells. Instead of replicating what is already there, new pairs are being added. The second is your cells are actually shrinking."

Beast Boy face clearly expressed his confusion. "So all this means?"

"Well…you cells are becoming denser and have more genetic material inside them. Plus your body made room for new cells. I'm not sure what they do."

The shape shifter looked at his hands. _So is all this for better or worse?_

Robin tried to simplify it. "Beast Boy, I think you might be evolving."

"You guys think we can keep this evolution thing between us for now? At least until we know more about what's going on."

Cyborg and Robin looked at each other, then at Beast Boy. "Uh, sure."

Robin added, "If that's what you really want. I don't think you evolving is going to matter all that much to the girls."

"Yeah, but what am I evolving into?"

Cyborg attempted to ease his friend's mind. "Whatever you evolve into, you'll still be BB."

_I hope so Cy. I really hope so._


	2. The Mysterious Monk

**Chapter 2: The Mysterious Monk**

The golden rings on the crossbar of the Staff of Azar clanked as a tanned skinned, bald monk walked on the ashes of Azarath. _It's been forty long years since I left here. _

The monk frowned with regret._ It looks like your anticipation of impending doom was right Azar. I didn't believe you. Then I received the vision of Trigon's destruction of Azarath shortly after it happened. I'm sorry I doubted you. How I wished my vision wasn't true. One cannot change what has happened. My friends, I've detoured here from my journey to pay my respects and offer my apology. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help. I know I would have made a difference. When I get the chance, I will destroy Trigon so your souls may rest in peace. _His right hand clenched the staff. _But first, I must destroy Aku Nefar so my family may rest in peace. If I come across Trigon on my current quest, I will destroy him with ease. After continuously battling the demon Aku Nefar to a draw, I know vanquishing Trigon will only take seconds. _The monk walked into the ruins of Azarath's most hallowed temple. Immediately after passing through what remained of the entrance, he dropped his staff and fell to his knees as a powerful vision came to him.

The four eyed demon Trigon was battling young warriors on a world in another dimension. The warriors were fighting valiantly for their world. The warriors were blurry and indiscernible in the vision. At the end, a figure, cloaked in white stood up, battled, and vanquished the demon.

As the vision ceased, the monk reached out and took hold of his staff once again. _So Trigon has already been defeated. At least my people can rest in peace. I give thanks to you, young warriors. I can maintain my focus on finding and destroying Aku. _He let out a weary sigh. _I must rest and regain some of my lost strength, but first I must concentrate to pick up Aku's trail. Rest won't aid me if I have to waste energy in catching up with him._

The monk drove his staff into the ground in front of him. Sitting down, crossed legged, he meditated.

"Azarath Aba Spiritus, Azarath Aba Spiritus, Azarath…"

With his eyes closed, a ying-yang symbol appeared before his mind's eye. It rotated open to reveal a planet with an abundant variety of life. _I've never seen such a rich world in my visions before. Some of these creatures even look like Azarathians. _The vision headed below the surface of this world, showing a dimensional portal barely open and a dark shadow slithering out of the hole into a cavern with flowing lava. _That aurora, it's Aku! I can barely sense it. My visions are only of the past, so this must have been just after our last battle. That would make it about 18 months ago. I've only recently recovered enough strength to move, so he's most likely in the same condition. But where is this world? _The ying-yang symbol closed. _As usual, that's all I receive from my visions; always keeping me just a step behind. _Shutting his eyes tighter, the monk had a few tears flow as he muttered, "I…I just wish…"

Suddenly the staff began to glow and emit a powerful aurora. The monk opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. The earth began to shake and golden lightning shot out from the rings into the ground, carving a symbol. As quickly as the display had begun, it stopped. The elderly warrior pulled his staff from the ground. Scorched into the earth was a kanji. "Earthen?" Using the ancient staff to channel his energies, the monk opened a portal on the spot the kanji rested. He smirked. _I think my plea has been answered._ "Aku, I'm coming for you!" the monk proclaimed right before he entered the portal.

* * *

Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy exited the heath bay after they finished with Beast Boy's testing. Starfire met them further down the hallway.

"Everything is all right? You are okay?"

"Right now, yeah." Eager to change topics, Beast Boy asked, "So what do you guys want to do now?"

Cyborg smacked his friend's back. "How about we do some runs on the obstacle course. I just finished rebuilding it according to the new schematics."

"Sure," added Robin. "Does anyone know where Raven is? We should all run through it at least once today."

Starfire answered, "I believe she is meditating on the roof. I will get her and meet you at the course."

With a soft tone, Robin replied, "Thanks Star."

* * *

Raven contemplated as she floated beside the obstacle course's control platform. _From what Starfire said, Beast Boy claims he's okay right now. Still, the entire way out to the course, he didn't attempt to crack one joke. Beast Boy…you, Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg, were the first friends I had after I left Azarath. They knew me from birth there, treated me kindly, but still it always felt like I was kept at arm's length. After you all found out about what I was suppose to bring to the world, you didn't hate me for keeping it from you or even shun me. You fought with everything you had to support me instead. If I can only find a way to help you now like you helped me then. _A tapping on her shoulder made Raven open her eyes. It was Robin who had grabbed her attention. "You need something Robin?"

"Seeing if you were okay. You weren't saying your usual mediation phrase and…" he pointed behind her.

Looking in that direction, Raven saw a long crack had started to appear on the rock wall behind her. _I really shouldn't get so worried. Last thing I need to do is let my emotions get out of control. _She turned back to face Robin. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Beast Boy about ready to start?"

"He's reaching the starting line now."

Raven and Robin joined their other two teammates on the platform. Robin called down "Are you ready?"

Beast Boy gave Robin the thumbs up.

"Okay, starting in 3…2…1…GO!"

He started off running in the form of a wolf. When the flying disk dispensers emerged and began firing, Beast Boy shifted into a humming bird to dodge all of the explosions. Rounding the first corner, combat drones, five in all, jumped out from behind the rocky outcroppings. In response, Beast Boy changed into a gorilla and smashed the first two robots' heads together. The remaining three began to fire lasers.

Cyborg warned, "The lasers aren't even close to being dangerous, but they will sting a little if you get hit."

Beast Boy jumped into the air and changed into a raccoon. He leapt onto the middle robot's face and shredded its head to pieces. The other two robots took aim. By the time they fired, the middle robot was falling towards the ground with Beast Boy scampering down its legs. The laser fire went over the falling robot and destroyed the robots at the opposite ends.

The last stretch of the course was moving terrain. Cyborg had rigged different pieces of the splintered ground to move up, down, left, right, front, and back at random intervals. For this section, Beast Boy selected to be a monkey. Having hands that could act as feet made this last section ridiculously easy for him as he worked his way from moving rock to moving rock. He finished the entire course in exactly three minutes.

"Nice job Beast Boy," complimented Robin.

Changing back to his human form, he replied, "Thanks." Beast Boy headed on up to the platform. "So, who's next?" he asked as he went around the corner of the control computer. *RIIIIP*. The back of his uniform accidently caught the corner and tore the fabric. Being already stretched because of his growth spurt, the top of his uniform practically popped off him once the tear had started. Once gone, another change had been revealed for all to see.

Beast Boy had gone from being in good shape to being absolutely ripped. His muscles were extremely well defined. Pectorals, abs, biceps, triceps, all were in peak condition, with no traceable body fat anywhere. Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg all blinked at what they saw and rubbed their eyes. Raven's eyes never blinked, nor could any other expression be seen under her hood. However, the rocky wall behind her completely shattered.

The trouble alarm blared, shaking most of the group from their stupor. Robin took the incoming message from the computer and started giving orders. "Beast Boy, get another shirt and meet us in Central Park. Everyone else, let's go!"

Beast Boy changed into a hawk and quickly flew to his room. Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin started sprinting towards the vehicle garage. Robin noticing Raven hadn't moved, stopped. "RAVEN! Let's Go!"

The cloaked hero shook her head and followed. As they approached the garage Robin whispered to her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Raven was extremely thankful the hood was hiding her blushing at the moment. "Yes, I'm sure." She picked up speed to catch up with Starfire and Cyborg.

* * *

The Azarathian monk exited the portal deep underground. He immediately sat down on the ground. _Maybe I'm not as healed as I thought. Fortunately that means Aku probably hasn't healed very much either yet. Now that we're on the same planet, I can fight him when he surfaces. I can feel that he was at this exact spot though. He's moved on to somewhere else that isn't in an open area like this cavern to recoup his strength. It would be best for me to replenish my strength as fast as possible. I will resume my search for him at that time. _The monk reclined on a slab of stone that was completely different from the surrounding ground. Behind the monk, there lay flowers left by the Teen Titans.

* * *

A woman with black and white striped and orange skin was toying with police in the park. Her gold and silver sorceress robe fluttered in the wind as she floated above and taunted them. "My, my, you all are certainly persistent. I only took this little old book from the museum." A red aurora surrounded her hands and one of the police cars. She made the car crash down on top of another car. "Are you sure you can't just look the other way?"

A blue beam came crashing into her backside, sending her lean, fit body to the ground. Cyborg's voice announced the arrival of the Teen Titans. "Nope, but you may want to look at giving up."

"Hmph, I heard a group of kids were apparently some big crime fighting force in this city."

"Kids?"

"Yeah, I figured the police force here must be really bad if some kids are famous heroes or that was just superstition to keep pathetic criminals away. Sadly, it appears there really are kids fighting crime here."

Cyborg grinned, "We'll see if you still feel that way when we whoop you."

"Just see if you can knock me down without shooting me in the back." She then heard a voice above her.

"If you want a face to face fight, you might want to look up!"

By the time she did, Robin had descended and swiped the book from her hands and rolled to the side. The woman lunged for him. "Why you little…" She quickly jumped back to dodge the energy blasts from Starfire.

"Don't worry," Cyborg jested. "Just because we have the book back doesn't mean we're gonna leave you. You can still fight us and go to jail."

"Or I can take the book back." The red aurora appeared around her left hand and the book. The book swiftly flew to her hand. "My name is Arcane. I think the Book of Excalibur will be of more use to me than you three."

A black aurora then surrounded the ancient text and flew into Raven's hand. "You're not going to get a chance to use it though."

"Oh, a fellow sorceress, that's a nice surprise. This might be an interesting squabble after all."

The four Titans had Arcane surrounded. Robin made the first offensive. Arcane tried to possess a nearby bench.

"Azarath Mentrion Zinthos." Raven canceled the effect by taking control of the same bench herself.

_Hmm, her skills match my own. If she was weaker, I still would have had control of the bench. WHOA! _The female villain dodged Robin by jumping and floating in the air, but Cyborg had jumped up and met her midair to drive her back to the ground. The sorceress phased into the ground and reemerged behind Cyborg. Arcane managed to land a nice wheelhouse kick to his backside.

"For children, you are much tougher than I gave you credit for. But, try this on for size." As Arcane's hand developed a red glow, her eyes had a black glow. Within seconds, she was surrounded by an orange shield.

Robin called out to Raven. "Any ideas?"

Before Raven could answer, Arcane spoke. "You won't need any, when you're pinned to the ground!" The shield broke and rained down on her foes. The energy turned into a heavy, gooey substance that glued them to the ground. Robin and Cyborg were completely trapped. Starfire had started blasting the substance with beams from her eyes. It slowly started to dry out and crack, but not enough for the Tamaranian to free herself yet. Raven quickly phased through the ground and came back up in a spot not covered with the goo.

"Not bad at all," complimented Arcane. "Even if you are about half my age, your skills seem equal."

Raven's eyes glowed white as she picked up chunks of earth to battle with.

Arcane grinned maliciously. "Got you!" Her feet quickly glowed with a red aurora when she stomped on the ground. Red strings of energy exploded out of the ground beneath Raven and strapped her down.

When Raven attempted to start using her powers, the wires quickly tighten around her, making it extremely difficult to breath. Raven stopped trying to break free to concentrate on her breathing. In response, the strings stopped constricting further. The wicked sorceress walked up to Raven and grabbed the Book of Excalibur from her. "That's a good girl. If you struggle any more, you won't be able to breathe at all. Apparently my skills are better than yours. Keep practicing kid and maybe…"

A monkey's paw swiped the book from her hand and jumped up into the park trees. Arcane turned in anger. "What now?"

Beast Boy was sitting in the tree, quickly flipping through the book. "Hmm…I don't think I've read this one before. Be nice if it had a few more pictures."

"You mangy interloper, give that back!"

One could almost see the question marks surrounding Beast Boy's head as he said, "uh? ...mangy?"

Arcane growled as her body seemed to be consumed in red aurora. It then shrunk down so it was completely concentrate in one finger tip. "I'm getting bored with this, so I'll show you my best spell."

"Seriously, what does mangy mean?"

"OH JUST SHUT UP!" The red light around Arcane's fingertip shot like lighting straight into Beast Boy.

His body was knocked back up against the tree, but he quickly regained his footing and rubbed the back of his head. "Was that it?"

"My lightning has entered your body. Once I snap my fingers, you will have quite the shocking experience from the inside."

Robin shouted, "Beast Boy, get out of her range, now! If you can get far enough away from the trigger signal…"

"Fool, there is no limit to the range of this attack." Arcane wasted no time in snapping her fingers.

All went dead quiet. Time seemed to stop, but it hadn't. Nothing happened.

"So, when I was thrown back against the tree… was that suppose to be the shocking experience?" asked Beast Boy.

Arcane snapped her fingers again … then again. Soon she was rapidly snapping them like someone trying to futilely get a lighter that was out of fuel to light.

Beast Boy dropped from the tree and changed into a rhino as he charged her. Arcane jumped into the air and quickly repeated her ritual to obtain red lightning. Before she touched ground, she zapped Beast Boy again, causing him to revert back to his regular form. Once again she snapped her fingers.

"What is going on? You should be on the ground, writhing in agony!"

Beast Boy grinned and turned into a bear. Arcane was visibly sweating now. Before the shape shifter got within striking distance, she uttered. "I can't believe I lost to children. How revolting."

She floated into the air. Beast Boy turned into an eagle to give chase. Arcane's hands glowed one again. "Chase me if you want, but…" Raven gasped for breath as the red strings began to tighten around her. "…you won't have enough time to capture me and keep your friend from dying." She cackled maniacally as headed off into the sky.

Beast Boy quickly shifted into a wolverine and dashed to Raven's side. His claws quickly sliced through the cords choking Raven. Raven instinctively gasped for air once the pressure on her throat was released. Beast Boy went back to his normal form and put his hand on Raven's shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah." She got up on her feet. "We need to get the others free."

Cracking and crumbling sounds came from behind the duo. Turning around they saw Starfire had gotten herself free. Her eye beams had dried out the goo until it got hard and broke. The Tamaranian turned her focus onto getting Robin free. Raven and Beast Boy went over to Cyborg and started to pull the goo off him. After about five minutes, the Teen Titans were all free.

Robin pulled out a test tube and put some of the goo inside it. Securing it, he pulled out another container. "Raven, grab some of that red string. I want to analyze both substances."

Raven nodded. As she walked over to get the string, Robin went up to Beast Boy. "How did you nullify that electric attack?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Maybe I absorb electricity now? ... OUCH!"

Cyborg had shocked his friend with a little static electricity. "I think we can rule that one out."

Raven arrived and tossed the string at Robin. The caped crusader placed it into the open container and secured it in his utility belt. "We can figure it out later. For now let's get back to the Tower and run some tests on these substances. Maybe we can come up with some counter measures after an analysis. Arcane won't get away a second time."

* * *

"Nothing…there's not one special property in either substance that should have made it so difficult to get free," gritted an exasperated Robin. _All those scans showed were basic sludge and tightly woven cord. The only test that hasn't been completed yet is… _

The doors to the lab slid open. Robin looked up and saw Raven coming through the doorway. She tossed the red string at him.

"There are some remnants of her chakra still on the string."

"So her powers are like yours. She attaches some of herself to an object to manipulate it."

"Not exactly."

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"When we were both trying to control that one bench in the park, I could sense a little of how she was using her power. I merge a little of myself into the objects I control and manipulate them from the inside as my chakra surrounds the outside. Arcane's power stays separate from an object, only controlling it by the surrounding aurora."

"Just from the outside? But what about the attack she used… well attempted to use on Beast Boy?"

"An attack like that doesn't try to merge. The attack would theoretically stay separated until the electrical impulses were released to do damage."

"I follow you. So, these substances are just her aurora materializing into real things. The aurora eventually leaves, with only the basic substance left behind."

Raven nodded.

Robin held his chin. "I'll work on creating a new evasion and counter attack formation. Hopefully I can devise one in time for us to get some practice at it." Already, an idea for the formation came to Robin. "Raven, I know the Ring of Azar protected Slade once from Trigon. While items can give protection from magic, is it possible to be immune to it?"

"I'm never heard of someone being immune…You're thinking of the failed attack on Beast Boy."

"Do you know where he is? I want to ask him something before we go any further."

"He's been sitting on the shore since we got back. What is it that…"

Raven never got to finish before Robin left the room.

* * *

Beast Boy sat on the rocks, staring out into the cove. He replayed his skirmish with Arcane in his mind. _I know I felt the lightning entering me. As soon as it got inside, I couldn't feel it anymore. It's like it just vanished. Getting taller, more muscles, and now this…none of these are bad things. So why…why do I feel like something bad is coming?_

"Beast Boy?"

Without turning around to face his friend, Beast Boy replied, "Yeah, Robin?"

"We have a good idea of how Arcane's powers work. I have an offensive strategy that might work, but I need to how you stopped that attack. Otherwise I might be putting you in more danger than necessary."

"So, we need to do more testing?"

Robin took a breath and exhaled. "I have an initial theory, but to test it requires more than just a scan."

Beast Boy stood up and turned around to face Robin. "You think those new cells…"

"Make you immune to magic, spells, incantations, and anything similar. Either that or they are an advanced immune system that protects you from anything that attempts to destroy you from within your own body. The drawback is to test this we will need Starfire and Raven's help. They'll have to know you aren't just growing, but are undergoing some kind of evolution. You asked Cyborg and me to keep quiet about it for now. So, it's your call to do this or not."

Beast Boy closed his eyes. He remembered his friends being stuck in glue and Raven's life being choked from her. Opening them he asked, "This is our best chance to prevent what happened earlier today?"

"I believe it is."

"I'm in."

"Okay, we'll start in the morning. Try to get some sleep in meantime."

* * *

The monk awoke from his slumber inside the cavern. He stood up. _I feel refreshed, but not completely reenergized. _His stomached growled. "I need to find nourishment, time to scavenge." Grabbing his staff, he began his journey out of the cave.

* * *

"You're sure about this? This is the first type of inside attack spell I've ever done. It's not really my…style" asked a highly suspicious Raven as she stared at Beast Boy.

Robin replied, "Yes. It's the only way to test this."

Raven shifted her glance from Beast Boy to Robin. "I wasn't asking you."

"Yes," proclaimed Beast Boy to draw Raven's attention away from Robin.

Raven took a deep breath and let it out. "Azarath, Mentrion, Zinthos." Her black aurora shot out from her hands and went straight into Beast Boy's mouth. After a few seconds she stopped and Beast Boy coughed violently. Moments later, he was perfectly fine.

Robin looked over at the adapted obstacle course's computer. Cyborg finished processing the data and yelled out. "Microscopic sensors showed those new cells attacking the aurora as soon as it entered the body. It disappeared almost instantly, like they just ate it to destroy it."

Robin looked back at Raven, "Okay, Test #2. Let's use that rock."

"That might be too big," Raven countered.

"It's smaller than my fist. He'll be fine. We just need to see if any pain is induced. Throw it so it goes as fast as you can make it."

The Azarathian shook her head and concentrated the nearby rock and lifted it into the air. She stared at Beast Boy a few moments.

Beast Boy shouted, "Just throw it."

She flung it right at his lower right arm. Her friend squeezed his eyes shut as he resisted his impulse to dodge it. The rock made direct contact and broke his arm. "HHHOOOWWWLLL!"

The sound of Beast Boy's bone cracking was heard by the other four Titans, even over his ear piercing howl. Raven immediately flew over to him. _I knew this was a stupid idea. _She quickly knelt beside him and tried using her empathetic healing to mend the bone. The initial amount of pain was so strong; it made Raven shut her eyes to keep her concentration.

The other three Titans had now made their way over to Beast Boy. "Sorry about that Beast Boy. I didn't think that big of a rock would do so much damage. On the bright side, I think we can rule out immunity to magic," observed Robin.

Raven, without looking away from Beast Boy's arm, very dryly replied. "Your observation skills are in top form today." _Except for the fact you didn't think about how the velocity would still increase the damage potential of that rock. _

Robin could only let out a nervous chuckle. Recomposing himself, he asked, "Beast Boy, do you still want to do the last test?"

Starfire interjected, "Maybe we should wait a bit."

Beast Boy muttered, "No, let's just finish this now."

Raven stepped back. "Are you sure? I just finished healing your arm. The bone isn't broken anymore, but the density hasn't fully recovered. It's still pretty fragile."

Standing up, he answered, "Yeah, I can focus on getting it healed more after we're done."

Robin said, "Okay then. Let's hook him up to the machine, gently."

The group went back inside the Tower. Beast Boy got into the same chair that had cured the Titans of Slade's microscopic robots a few years earlier.

Cyborg spoke. "Okay BB, once I start this, you'll be infected with the microbes again. If you don't get rid of them yourself, I'll reactivate the program to remove them, okay?"

The green titan gave Cyborg two thumbs up. His friend revved up the machine and soon enough, microbes had entered Beast Boy's blood stream. Just like Raven's aurora earlier though, the machines were attacked and destroyed almost instantaneously.

Cyborg announced, "Okay, unhook him. No need for a deletion procedure. Those things never stood a chance."

Starfire took off the mask. "So you are gaining multiple new powers instead of one like I did?"

"I guess so. I don't feel like this is the end of it though."

Raven asked, "Why do you feel this isn't the end?"

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck. After a few moments, he returned his hand to his lap. "I don't know. I just somehow feel it's not over yet. I can't explain it, but I feel it."

"What do you feel is left?"

Raven's question struck a chord in Beast Boy. Without thinking, he uttered, "Instinct."

Starfire asked, "What is instinct?"

Robin answered, "Instincts are natural feelings that push us to do certain things at certain times. An example would be fighting instincts. Sometimes people can sense danger before it happens and react in time to dodge when they wouldn't have been able to otherwise."

"So BB, you're going to be an almighty, animal instinct, fighting machine. Taking them down like an animal. Those villains won't know what hit 'em." Cyborg joyously encouraged.

"That will be awesome," added Robin. The happy mood was contagious as Starfire soon became swept up in thinking of how much better they would be as a team and the joyous moments they could share. Raven though looked on with concern at the other Titan who wasn't celebrating.

Beast Boy was staring off into space. _Like an animal? This sense that something bad going to happen…is it a warning that I might be permanently turning into that beast inside me? It's the part of me that's closest to my animal instincts. Is it a warning that if I turn into that thing, since I'm closer to it more than I've ever been, I won't be able to change back._

The warning alarm refocused everyone. Running back over to the computer, Robin quickly assessed the situation. "It's a Titan distress call from Kid Flash. Titans, Let's Move!"

* * *

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," Jinx said as she jumped backwards and snapped her fingers to cause a minor quake to slow Mammoth, Gizmo, and XL Terrestrial's assault. She was carrying Kid Flash on her back.

"Then leave me and get out of here. I don't know what that little guy did to me, but I can barely move. I'm only slowing you down." replied Kid Flash. "Huh, never thought I would say that."

Gizmo called out from above, "I have a better solution, snot head." He released numerous missiles from his backpack.

Jinx used her powers to make them self-destruct before getting too close. Mammoth though got behind her and backhanded her. She lost her grip on Kid Flash and the duo tumbled to the ground. Mammoth meandered up to them as he cracked his knuckles.

"Who to pummel first? Who to pummel first? The annoying red head or the traitor?" He grinned evilly. Mammoth lunged at the pink haired enchantress. "I choose youuuuu."

Jinx opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow. She shook her head to clear the dazed feeling. "Oh, that really hurt." She turned her head in time to see Mammoths fist inches away from her face. Suddenly, he was blown to the side by a bright blue stream of light. Jinx looked to the origin of the attack and saw Cyborg with the rest of the original Teen Titans.

"Never thought there would be a day when I would be glad to see you five make an entrance."

"Life's just full of surprises," replied Robin. He shifted his gaze towards the three H.I.V.E. members. "Titans, take 'em down."

Jinx got up on a knee, ready to join back into the fray when she felt Cyborg's hand on her shoulder.

"You watch after your boyfriend." Cyborg pointed with his thumb in Kid Flash's direction. "We got this." Cyborg then charged with the rest of the team.

Jinx smiled and whispered, "Thanks." She hurried on over to her partner.

With the odds now five versus three instead of three versus one, the H.I.V.E. members were quickly defeated. Starfire and Raven took down Mammoth with star bolts and some hard rocks. Cyborg and a T-Rex Beast Boy took care of XL Terrestrial with a hard knee from Cyborg and an accidental head butt from Beast Boy. Robin disarmed Gizmo with a well thrown bird-a-rang.

As Robin held Gizmo up by his green suit, Jinx came over. She pointed over at Kid Flash. "What did you do to him, Gizmo?"

"Like I'd ever tell…"

Jinx's eyes glowed pink and her energy crackled between her hair horns like electricity.

Gizmo hastily answered. "I used a chip I stole a few days ago to merge with an invisible level one containment field. The chip helps create an additional gravitational pull to slow his movements. When he touched my backpack, it engaged the field. …please don't hurt me."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "But I shorted out your backpack."

Jinx felt a tapping on her shoulder. When she looked behind her, she saw nothing but felt a whoosh of air going around her. A second later, she felt an arm around her shoulders as a red rose appeared in front of her. A comforting voice whispered in her ear.

"I'm feeling better now."

She cupped his cheek as she took the rose. "You never stop, do you?"

"Rarely."

Robin pretended to clear his throat to get the attention of the flirting Titans. "You two need anything before we take these three off to jail?"

Kid Flash smiled. "No, you guys already helped us out a lot this morning. It's almost lunchtime and there's a café three cities over I was taking Jinx to before we got ambushed." The speedster picked up Jinx into his arms. "I like to get there before there's a line and the place opens in two minutes. Bye." With the goodbye, the couple practically vanished from sight.

Cyborg spoke up. "Lunch sounds like a good idea. Let's drop these guys off and head out to get some pizza."

"Yeah, pizza sounds good," replied Robin.

"Okay, but no meat," added Beast Boy.

"Come on man, do we have to go through this every time? You know we can get you a separate pizza or you can try whatever concoction Starfire wants to make," responded Cyborg.

"This time I shall see if I can have the strawberry frosting," Starfire said with anticipation.

"And the world continues to spin," Raven muttered to herself as she followed the group back to the T-Car.

* * *

At sunrise the following morning, the monk was meditating in a field just outside Jump City. _No matter how much I concentrate, I still can't sense Aku anywhere. I can tell where he's been, but not where he's at. _The monk took a deep breath and exhaled. _He must be using some spell to mask his presence. No matter, when he makes his move, he won't be hiding. I'll definitely get him then._

"You look like quite an experienced mystic man," suggested a female voice from behind him.

He opened his eyes and looked behind him. "You could say I've been around the block a few times. And you are?"

"Arcane, Supreme Sorceress and collector of mystic power; I'm interested in that staff of yours. I've never seen anything like it and am sure it would bring me much power."

"It's not for sale, especially to the likes of you."

Arcane's hands began to glow red. "I wasn't going to buy it."

The monk jumped just before the ground beneath him exploded, sending grass and soil everywhere.

* * *

The trouble alarm went off in the Titan Tower waking everyone up. The team exited their bedrooms and ran to the main room. On their way there, Cyborg looked over at Beast Boy, who was running down the hall with him. _That's strange. BB is usually a heavy sleeper. He's out here with the rest of us though. Usually I have to go get him._

A few seconds later, they were all in the main room. Robin quickly accessed the alert. "Arcane's been spotted. She's attacking someone in the fields outside the city."

"Do we know why? It seems random. This could be a trap," suggested Raven.

"We can be cautious, but we shouldn't stand by and do nothing. Titan's let's move!" replied Robin.

* * *

"I can see them," spoke Cyborg as the T-Car approached the battlefield.

Beast Boy added, "Wow, for an old looking bald guy, he seems pretty agile. Look at him move."

"He seems to remain on the defensive though," observed Starfire.

"Which means we need pick it up. Cyborg, hit the turbo," ordered Robin.

The turbo engines ignited and sent the T-Car blazing towards the battlefield. It stopped a few yards away from where the monk and Arcane were currently battling. The Titans exited the vehicle with haste.

The monk, floating in the air, looked down at them, then back up at Arcane. "I can't afford to waste anymore energy on you. I need to save it to battle Aku and now innocents are being dragged into this needless quarrel."

"Fine, then I'll just end this by killing you and taking the staff." Arcane swiftly induced her power to create her red electrical attack.

Robin seeing this yelled out, "Watch Out! That attack will…" He stopped as the monk began to recite an incantation. The whole team, especially Raven, stared in disbelief at what they were hearing.

"Azarath, Glorium, Veni!"

The monk's staff glowed and shot out a blinding light encompassing Arcane. When the light faded, the monk was standing on the ground with Arcane sluggishly lying on the ground.

"What…What did you do to me?"

"I sealed away your power inside you. You won't try to hurt others with it for a long time." He turned and started to walk away.

Robin called out, "Hey wait up!"

The monk turned to face the team leader. "What do you want?"

"Who are you? Why was she after you?"

"Who I am is none of your business. She was after my staff. Now leave me alone, I have important matters to attend to." He turned to walk away again, but was cut off by a black wall.

"I have one question for you," Raven uttered.

"Like I care," he replied before shattering the wall with ease. He began to leave them but came to a complete stop when he heard Raven's question.

"What connection do you have with Azarath?"

"Why does it concern you," he condescendingly replied without turning around.

"I was born there."

The monk now turned around to face her. He inquisitively eyed Raven. "Prove it to me."

Raven's eyes began to glow, "Azarath, Mentrion, Zin…"

"That's not what I meant."

Raven stopped her incantation. "What did you mean then?"

"What is your name? It may have been forty years before I returned home to find it in ruins, but I kept in touch with Azar before her unjust death. There were less than fifteen children born in the time I was gone. I know all their names, who are you?"

The other Titans could feel a great deal of tension in the air. Beast Boy started to interject, "Maybe we should…" His mouth was clamped shut by Cyborg.

Raven answered in an emotionless voice. "Rachel Roth, daughter of Arella Roth."

The monk's stern expression changed to one of slight amusement. "I have to admit, of all the names it could have been, that was the one I was least expecting."

Unamused, Raven spat out, "Okay, I've answered your question. Now you answer ours. Who are you and what connection do you have to Azarath?"

"My name is Namash Raza, the last monk of Azarath."


	3. Working Together, Sort Of

**Chapter 3: Working Together, Sort Of**

Namash sighed. "You have more questions, don't you?"

Beast Boy fervently peppered the monk. "Well, yeah! Why are you here? What do you want? Do you like tofu?"

"One of those has nothing to do with the others," Raven quipped.

Namash however was clearly perplexed. "To-fu?"

"You've never tried it? Man, are you in for a trea-"

Raven pushed her friend down. "Maybe we should drop Arcane off and continue this discussion back at the Tower."

As Namash contemplated Raven's offer, his stomach growled.

"We'll feed you some of Beast Boy's tofu," offered Cyborg.

"Yeah, I'll prepare a tofu feast!" Beast Boy proudly bragged. The other Titans rolled their eyes.

"Nourishment in exchange for information? Very well, lead the way."

* * *

Namash took a refreshing swallow of the herbal tea after finishing his fifth plate of tofu eggs. "So that's tofu. It was tasty. Thank you, I haven't had a good meal like that in a long time."

"See guys, someone appreciates my cooking," Beast Boy gloated.

"Only goes to show you how poor the man must have been eating," replied Cyborg.

Beast Boy just stared with irritation at Cyborg. Raven refocused the discussion.

"So why are you here?"

"I'm hunting a demon. I tracked him to this planet. Since I arrived, I've only been able to detect places he's been, but never where he is."

Robin joined the inquiry. "What will you do when you find him?"

"I'll fight him and hopefully kill him before he destroys this world like he has so many others."

"Kill him…how?"

"Like one would any other being. Demons are a mortal lot. Most just live what you would call a normal human life span. Those who become corrupted by their power usually die from being banished since that separates them from the source that they use for their unnaturally long life spans. I however intend to just cut of the Aku's head."

"So this demon's name is Aku?" asked Starfire.

"His full name is Aku Nefar. He is the most powerful demon I've known to ever exist. Since Trigon's demise, he has been working his way into the territory Trigon terrorized."

Raven's eyes went wide. "He's more powerful than…"

"Your father? Yes he is." Namash's teacup exploded in his hand. His focus quickly zeroed in on Raven.

"Don't you ever call him my father," she threatened.

"I can understand why you would say that. To Trigon, his children were nothing more than tools. Used as portals and discarded when each returned to a child's form. Each child would eventually die a lonely death. Stories of his cruelty reached even where I had journeyed, too far away to help my friends when he attacked Azarath."

"So you know that Azarath is now in ruins?"

"Yes, I was there only a few days ago. Apparently you have been back as well to see the destruction. At least I can bring you good news. In my short stay in Azarath, I received a vision. It was blurred, but I could see warriors battling Trigon and a figure cloaked in white defeated him. Your destiny as one of his portals was changed thanks to-"

Beast Boy interjected, "Dude, news flash." He stood behind Raven and pointed at her with both hands, giving emphasis as they moved up and down during the demonstration. "Raven here is the one that whooped Trigon's sorry tail."

Namash's eyes went wide, and then narrowed in skepticism. "Impossible, if Trigon had entered this world, she would have been reduced to nothing more than a child. Plus you would have been sent to-"

Raven smirked. "I have the best friends anyone could ask for. That's how."

Namash paused. "I see. These friends with you now are the other warriors I saw fighting. Trigon would be child's play to me after my battles with Aku, for you five though, that was quite an accomplishment. I commend you for it."

Robin asked, "So if this Aku is more powerful than Trigon and is already here, why hasn't he made a move yet?"

"He's probably too weak to make a move. Our last battle left us both almost completely drained, though he had just enough energy to jump through a portal and escape me. He's probably been here for months recuperating. Aku won't make a move until he's almost fully rejuvenated."

"Two more questions, what does he look like? If we find him before you do, how do we take him down?"

Namash slammed his fist on the table. "Aku's death will be by my hands, not yours!"

Cyborg questioned. "I take it this is a personal matter and not just a defeat-an-evil-demon-to-make-the-universe-a-better-place thing."

Namash calmed himself. "Yes, it is very personal."

"You can only be in one place at a time," Robin pointed out. "We have friends all over the world. You tell was what he looks like, and we can be on the lookout for him. If we find him before you do, we just contact you…how would we contact you?"

The monk stroked his chin. "I have no means for you to contact me… if I may impose on you and stay here, I will describe Aku to you."

Robin held up one finger. "One sec." He huddled with his teammates. "What do you guys think?"

"It's our best chance at taking down this Aku guy. Otherwise this lone wolf might jeopardize the Earth for the sake of his revenge," whispered Cyborg.

"I don't think he's telling us everything yet. Having him stick around will give us a chance to learn more," commented Raven.

"It does seem to be our best option," observed Starfire.

"The man likes tofu, he's all right with me," voted Beast Boy.

Robin turned from the huddle to face the monk. "Okay, you can stay. But you don't hide any details about this from us. It's your vendetta, but it's our world."

"Fair enough," replied Namash. "Compared to the giant ogre form of Trigon, Aku is of humanoid form, about seven feet tall. Although his body is human shaped; the rest of his boy shows dragon lineage. Instead of hands and feet, he has claws with opposable thumbs. His skin is orange scales. He has a tail about four feet in length. Aku can breathe fire from the mouth of his dragon head. He has three eyes, all a deep, bottomless black. Aku doesn't possess wings, but he can fly in the same manner the two ladies here can. His aurora is the same color as his scales, so a moving orange aurora could be him as well."

As Namash gave his description, Cyborg was creating a digital visualization of Aku. A few seconds after the monk finished, Cyborg showed him the image.

"Does this drawing look like your Aku Nefar?"

The monk nodded after looking over the image with a discerning eye.

Robin took the lead from there. "Okay, Cyborg, send that image out to the other Titan bases. The more eyes we have looking, the sooner he'll turn up. Starfire and I will setup a room for this guy to stay in. After that, we can relax presuming nothing comes up."

Most of the Titans got up and left the table. Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire went to accomplish their tasks. Beast Boy went over and started doing the dishes. Raven remained seated across from Namash.

"What more do you want to know? I've told you what Aku looks like."

"It's not about Aku."

"Let's get this inquisition over with then. What is it?"

"In your explanation earlier, you used the phrase 'those who become corrupted'. It implies that demons aren't evil to begin with."

Raven was puzzled when she saw Namash's expression soften. The monk stroked a spot on the wrapping at the base of his neck. He closed eyes and when they opened; his appearance seemed more grandfatherly instead of a monk bent on nothing except revenge.

"Demons aren't inherently evil."

Beast Boy's ears perked up as he continued to wash dishes, while Raven's eyes conveyed her befuddlement. Namash further explained.

"You can consider demons as nothing more than another type of species, like Tamaranians, Earthlings, or Azarathians. Demons carry certain traits, one being all demons have an affinity for mystical power. For some, this extraordinary power corrupts their very souls and they lose their sense of being within a community. They exist for themselves and themselves alone. Unfortunately, the only demons so far to ascend to the very top of the power chain have been those corrupted by their own power. That is why the term demonic power carries such a negative connotation."

"And the demons who aren't corrupted?" prodded Raven.

"They try to live in other dimensions amongst planets that accept them. Some battle demons that have been corrupted by their own power, keeping the demons that run amok limited to those who achieve uniquely high levels of power. It's that type of power that spawns monikers like 'incarnation of evil'."

"What proof do you have that what you say is the truth?"

"You remember the whole Azarathian teaching that any being is capable of good or evil and that the difference is choice?

"I remember. I hated it. It was a cruel reality. Even though I could choose to do good deeds, in the end I couldn't escape the prophecy that would make me a tool for evil to enter and cause untold suffering."

"But in the end you overcame the end of the other prophecy children because of your choice."

"I doubt that was your point in bringing up that teaching."

"True, I actually thought demons were the exception to that lesson. All I had ever seen was demons causing pain and destruction. I was so vocal about it, the Chief Azar Monk sent me on a quest. One I thought was absolutely futile and was only meant to serve as banishment. I had to leave Azarath and could not return until I found a demon with an uncorrupted soul."

"You found one, but didn't return to Azarath?"

"You're a perceptive girl. Yes, I found a demon with an uncorrupted soul. Feleesh was…"

The trouble alarm cut Namash's story short. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire quickly entered the room. The caped crusader quickly assessed the incoming information.

"Titan's we got two emergencies. Mumbo's robbing a jewelry store and there's a cruise ship sinking about five miles offshore from the beach. Beast Boy and Starfire, you two head to the beach. Cyborg, Raven, and I will take care of Mumbo. "Titan's Go!"

Within moments, the room was empty except for the monk staring out the window as he saw the young heroes leave. _Feleesh, these young men and women…they strive to make such a positive difference in their world, just as you actively did. My love, I miss you so much. _His hand tightened into a fist._ Aku, you will pay for taking her life and the life of my son. You will pay an equal price._

* * *

A gray haired, rumpled man was studying documents in the condemned animal testing laboratory's basement in Jump City. In disgust he threw the papers down on the table.

"Useless, all these documents are absolutely useless. If only the Logans hadn't destroyed the original data, I could have perfected this serum by now!"

"You seem a bit frustrated doctor," spoke Slade from atop the stairwell leading into the storage basement.

The doctor spun to see who had spoken. "An intruder! How did you get past my security?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm here to offer you an opportunity Doctor Anima," Slade calmly declared as he walked down the steps.

The doctor pulled out a laser gun. "I'm not going back to prison. Whatever cover-ops agent you are, you won't keep me from my destiny." The crazed scientist fired only to have Slade dodge the blasts with ease and get behind him. The master villain held the laser to Doctor Anima's chin as he held the scientist's throat with his arm.

"I'm not taking you to prison. In fact, I'm interested in helping you achieve your goal."

Anima raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "You seem to be more skilled than some government dog. Who are you? What do you know about me? And what do you want?"

Slade released his grip and push his captive into a nearby wooden chair. "Dr. Anima: sent to prison on the grounds of unethical human experiments. Created a mutagen designed to turn any human into the ultimate beast. Your desire: turn yourself into the most dangerous weapon on earth. Before you could perfect your mutagen, Adonis broke into your lab to steal other chemicals you were working on to increase his muscles, but was exposed to the mutagen along with one of the Teen Titans. Once the source of the mutagen was revealed, your entire facility was shut down, your funding gone, the mutagen solution diluted and disposed of, and you were sent to prison. Released a month ago, you returned here to salvage what you could, only to find everything gone. You've been experimenting, trying to obtain the data you lost."

"My work is my own, get lost!"

Slade pulled a stack of papers from one of his pouches and tossed them on the floor in front of the doctor. "Your original notes are very interesting. Turning man into a beast that would exceed human limitations of speed, strength, and endurance is quite ambitious. However granting such power is only the beginning. I've attempted to train an apprentice. Each protégé had power, but always lacked something. For one it was the willingness to serve oneself, for another, she lacked courage in battle and was too weak willed. Your mutagen would allow me to grant power to someone who already has all the other necessary qualities except for power. I would finally have a true apprentice."

"And what's in it for me? Getting back notes and data I already know, it doesn't seem like a good deal."

"Your mutagen is unstable."

"And you can what, reverse time and obtain the experimental serum the scientists Mark and Marie Logan created? It was rumored to have cured their son from Sakutia, but they feared its side effect of making the patient's DNA partially unstable. Deeming DNA on the verge of collapse would cause more deaths than it would possible save, they stopped their research into it. They never revealed the composition they used even under threat of death from organizations like the one I use to work in. They claimed the serum was too risky for mass production. After we killed the entire family, it was discovered they had even destroyed the documents detailing their own creation. There's no way you could have the chemical composition of that serum."

"But I can give you the blood of a human who's DNA seems to share a similar defect to the one that serum could create." Slade tossed a picture of his target to the scientist.

"You're saying you have this subject's blood?"

"I've already made preparations for collection as we speak. The question is do you want it?"

"Show me a substantial supply I can use and we'll talk."

"We'll meet again soon enough," Slade replied as he began to vanish into the shadows of the basement. _You won't find me as easy to bargain with then. I'm not some fool who shows all the cards I hold. I know more than you think I do._

As Dr. Anima sat alone in the chair, he grinned in anticipation. _Fool, while the whole world believes the Logan family to be dead, I stumbled upon the real truth a few years ago. All thanks to that journal, I could pursue the secrets the Logan's tried to lock-away from the world. That blood will give me more information than Slade could even imagine._

* * *

Starfire and Beast Boy were flying as the beach, where the local coast guard was coordinating the rescue effort, came into view. Beast Boy changed from a falcon to his human form as the duo landed on the beach and went over to the Incident Commander to get a better grip on the situation. The commander rushed over when he saw them.

"I'm so glad you're here!"

"How can we help?" asked Starfire.

"We have three helicopters getting people off the ship, but we can't get any closer by water. Some robotic sharks are swarming around the boat and have been destroying any rescue boat that comes near the ship. They're also causing more damage to the cruise ship, causing it to sink faster. Can you slow down the sharks and buy us some more time to get everyone out?"

"Can do," replied Beast Boy as he started to run for the water. As he got into the water, he changed into a swordfish and swam as fast as he could for the boat. Starfire flew in the air right above him.

Once they were within fifty yards of the sinking ship, the sharks picked up Beast Boy's presence and began their assault. Seeing the approaching enemies, he changed into an octopus. The battle was too far below the surface for Starfire to assist, so she continued towards the cruise ship to help speed up the evacuation. Along her way, she pulled out her communicator to send a request to Titans East for Aqualad's assistance.

Beast Boy engaged the oncoming sharks. Despite destroying numerous enemies, he made very little progress towards the cruise ship. Even after destroying twenty-five robots, more sharks still swarmed around him. As he began to tire, the sharks began to succeed in their attempts to chomp down on some of his eight arms.

Seeing that he was getting overwhelmed, Beast Boy changed into a sailfish and rapidly swam towards the surface. He was concentrating so much on the path ahead of him; he didn't notice the giant robotic squid that came from his side. The squid's powerful tentacle smacked Beast Boy clear out of the water. The force was great enough for him to change back into his human shape. Luckily when he began to descend back towards the water, he landed in a lifeboat full of passengers that Starfire was flying back to shore. Beast Boy stood up and was ready to change into a falcon to fly back towards the ship, but felt a hand grab his shoulder causing excruciating pain.

The passenger who had grabbed Beast Boy's shoulder spoke. "You're bleeding pretty badly from that arm. Let me bandage it quickly before you head back into the fray," she spoke as she took some supplies out of her hip pack.

Beast Boy looked down at his arm. It had a huge red spot where the blood was oozing out. "Sure, thanks." By the time the bandaging was done, Starfire had lowered the lifeboat onto the beach. Beast Boy hopped out of the boat.

"How many people are left?"

Starfire replied, "Not that many." She pointed to a helicopter that was a few yards behind them. "I think they were getting the last of them."

The helicopter landed nearby and passengers were swiftly exiting. The two heroes went over to aircraft. "Is that everyone?" inquired Beast Boy.

The pilot answered, "No, the Captain and his wife are still on board. We didn't have any more room."

Looking back out into the water, the ship had completely submerged. The pilot gloomily added, "A rescue is impossible now with so many of those robotic sharks around the ship. We almost got everyone out, if we only had more time."

A young boy's voice shrieked from behind the pilot. "You're not going back for my mommy and daddy?"

The pilot turned and looked at a child, no more than five years old, whose face was overflowing with tears. "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do."

The child started to run towards the water, but was caught by the pilot. "Mommy! Daddy!" the child screamed as he was being held back.

Behind the pilot, Starfire could only watch and be at a loss for words. Further behind her was Beast Boy. For a moment, it was like he wasn't there as he stared off into the distance, remembering another time and place. His eyes held much pain at the memory. Then they narrowed in determination.

Hearing a splash behind her, Starfire turned around. Beast Boy was gone and a trail of blood could be seen in the water heading towards the location of the submerged ship. Starfire took to the sky and followed the trail as it grew longer.

_No, not again. NEVER AGAIN! _Thought Beast Boy as he swam just ahead of the blood trail he was making. _This time will be different!_

He saw the ship underwater being encircled by the sharks and pulled down by the giant squid. _Please let them still be alive! _When Beast Boy came within combat distance, he changed from a sailfish to pliosaur. With his increased size, Beast Boy was able to ram through the sharks with only some additional injury. His pace never slowed as he plowed through the multitude of robots; his focus clearly being on getting to the ship and not destroying the sharks. _Hold on, just please hold on!_

* * *

Cyborg closed the door on the police wagon before it took Mumbo off to jail. He turned towards to the other two Titans. "That was pretty easy. You think we got done before BB and Star?"

The trio heard Aqualad's voice over their communicators.

"Starfire, this is Aqualad. I should be there in about two minutes, tops."

"Please hurry, the ship is underwater and I've lost contact with Beast Boy."

"I'm coming as fast as I can."

The communicators went silent again.

Robin wasted no time in giving Cyborg and Raven a new directive. "Looks like we're not finished yet, Titans let's move."

* * *

As Aqualad arrived on the scene, he saw Beast Boy struggling to get past the robotic sharks. With his telepathy, he spoke to Beast Boy. _I'm here._

Beast Boy hastily replied. _Don't worry about me. Just get the passengers of that ship to the surface._

Aqualad's attention shifted towards the sinking ship. The metallic giant squid had completely wrapped itself around the boat. _Beast Boy, if you can get the squid off it, I can raise the ship._

_Consider it done. _Beast Boy swam as fast as he could, barreling through the sharks. He rammed the giant squid right in its electronic eye, causing a chain reaction that shut down the mechanical beast. The tentacles released their grip. The sharks though started to descend once again upon the ship. Beast Boy shifted into a giant octopus and put up a formidable barrier between the army and the ship.

Aqualad simultaneously beckoned a nearby school of dolphins to come aid Beast Boy's assault and used his water manipulation powers to start forcing the ship back towards the surface. Looking through the window into the bridge of the ship, the aquatic hero saw the inhabitants alive with only their heads above the water line in a pocket of air they had found. He forced that water out of the ship, creating more air for them to breathe.

As the ship rose, the dolphins arrived and aided Beast Boy in his battle against the sharks. While the dolphins evened the odds of combat and started to put a dent in the opposition's forces, the sharks continued to inflict minor wounds on Beast Boy. All the wounds and blood loss were starting to take their toll on the Teen Titan. His vision began to blur and his breathing labored. With his senses dulled, a few of the sharks got behind him and clamped down hard onto some of his tentacles.

By the time the ship resurfaced on top a pillar of water, the other three Titans had arrived on the scene. Starfire and Raven were hovering over the area of the sunken ship. The girls swiftly went into the craft and carried the married couple to the shore towards their son. Aqualad quickly dove into the water and headed back towards Beast Boy's location.

Most of the shark robots had been destroyed by the time Aqualad arrived back at the edge of the battle zone. To his horror he saw the green giant octopus being clamped down by eight sharks. Beast Boy was slipping into unconsciousness and was starting to change back into his human form. As his tentacles retracted the sharks released their grip and started to retreat into the darkness of the bay's depths. Realizing Beast Boy would quickly drown, Aqualad sped like a torpedo towards his friend. Before the Titan could completely change back, Aqualad had barely made it above the water's surface. He used the water to glide him and the injured party back to shore.

* * *

The door slid open to Robin's detective room. Cyborg entered as Robin was putting a few reports of the ship's passengers and crew on the wall. Robin was the first to speak.

"How's he doing?"

"Beast Boy's sleeping in the medical bay. He hasn't woken up yet, but he should be okay. His body is regenerating new blood cells at a remarkable rate."

"That's good to hear. Though, it seems Beast Boy is spending too much time in there, lately."

"It's just been a bad streak of coincidences for him that's all. Anyways, have you been able to figure out what those robots were after?"

"No. There were enough of those robots that the ship could have been destroyed easily before any of us got there. None of the passengers or crew seemed to be targeted either. It might have been a random attack, but if so, why did the few remaining robots retreat? Why not keep attacking until the very end?"

"Do we have any leads at all?"

"I only have one. Aqualad was able to salvage some of the destroyed sharks. The robotics and electronics are very complex. Similar in design to the robot drones Slade has used in the past."

"So if it is Slade, we have to try and get inside his head again." Cyborg sarcastically added, "That's just great."

"Even if we can't figure out his hand before he plays it, we'll just stop it when he shows his face again. Just like we always do."

* * *

Dr. Anima was hunched over his desk working on calculations for the composition structure of his latest mutagen. A small black and orange cooler slid across the desk and bumped into his elbow. Looking in the direction the cooler came from, the scientist saw Slade emerge from the shadows. The scientist looked into the cooler and saw five test tubes of blood.

"This is it? I wouldn't call this a substantial supply."

Slade replied, "That exact offer expired when I left the room. I have more where that came from, but if you want it, you'll have to give me more than what I asked for last time."

"And if I say no?"

"I take back Garfield Logan's blood now and you'll never see any of it again."

_Shit! How did he know one member of the family survived? More so, how did he know Beast Boy was their child? I have no choice now, to advance my mutation research, I need this blood. _"Fine…what more do you want?"

"In due time Doctor. For now work with that. I'll be back in a few weeks with a test subject for you. Have something ready by then." Slade receded back into the darkness of the room.

Dr. Anima took the cooler over to his specimen fridge. _I'm not sure what exactly he's after, but I'll play along for now. It's to my benefit to work with him for the time being._


	4. A New Beast

**Chapter 4: A New Beast**

It had been a couple of weeks since Beast Boy recovered from the injuries he sustained against the robotic sharks. As the moon and stars shimmered in the sky, he tossed and turned in his bed as he dreamed.

_Beast Boy ran through the forest faster on his hind legs than a cheetah on an open plain would at top speed on all fours. He pounced from between tree trunks until he came to a clearing with a lake. Seeing his reflection as he walked up to the water, Beast Boy was clearly in his Were-Beast form._

_His body began to shrink. The powerful, semi-bulky muscles were now compressing into an extremely lean, taut sinew. His pawed feet and clawed hands reduced in size but kept their humanoid, animalistic shape. The long mane shortened so it ended at his shoulders instead of three-quarters of the way down his back. His body was now at the regular size and proportions that it grew into with his evolutionary changes. The discernible differences were that he was now covered in green fur, had paws for feet, and claws for hands. Beast Boy's face also returned to normal, except instead of seeing pupils in his eyes, they were completely white._

_Beast Boy's ears twitched as they picked up the snapping of a twig. In less than a second, he had jumped into the cover of the nearby forest line. He watched and observed a figured covered in a bluish indigo cloak come into the clearing. Beast Boy's body immediately went tense on its own accord, ready to jump the figure. Upon reaching the water, the figure lowered her hood. It was Raven._

_Before he could think, Beast Boy tackled and pinned her to the ground. As his body lay on top of hers, he sunk his teeth into her shoulder where it met her neck._

"AH!" screamed the green hero as he bolted upright in his bed. He panted heavily for about thirty seconds as he dripped in perspiration. Beast Boy ran his hand through his short, green hair as he talked to himself.

"It was a dream. No matter how real it felt, it was just a dream." Failing to quell his subtly shaking hands, Beast Boy looked over at his clock. "Four-thirty in the morning…these dreams keep waking me up earlier and earlier. This whole week, I've had nothing except the transformation dream." Beast Boy covered his face with his hands and mumbled. "But why was Raven in my dreams this time? Why would I attack her, let alone injure her like that?"

He dragged himself out of bed. _Well, I'm up anyways and I don't think I want to go back to sleep right now. I'll just get a shower and forget about the whole thing._

* * *

Raven woke up as the early morning sun came through her window. Sitting up and stretching, she looked over at her clock. _Hmm…a little past five, time to get a shower and some meditation in before all the noisy ones get up. _Soon, she was heading towards the bathroom.

As Raven neared her destination, she heard the water running. _That's weird. The only time someone is up and in the shower before I am is Robin. That's only Tuesdays when he does his early morning training. Today is Friday, so who's in there? _Raven heard the water get cut off and the shower curtain pulled back as she reached the bathroom door. A few minutes later, it opened revealing Beast Boy with a towel around his lower body and draped across on his shoulders.

"Raven…uh…did I…um…wake you," stuttered the green hero.

"No, I'm usually up this early. You're up really early for your normal routine though, aren't you?" Raven asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I just…just had a little troubling sleeping, nothing big." Stepping out of the doorway, he added, "Well, I've held you up long enough. I'll see you at breakfast."

"Thanks," Raven replied with a little suspicion in her tone.

Beast Boy walked by her and headed towards his room. _They're only dreams. I would never do something like that to Raven. It's just not possible._

Raven watched him until he turned the corner and went out of her line of sight. _I haven't seen his face look that troubled since he brooded on the shore after Cyborg gave him that antidote for the chemicals he and Adonis were exposed to. Whatever caused the troubled sleep is definitely not 'nothing big'._

* * *

Dr. Anima studied the slide under his microscope. He heard Slade's voice speak from behind him.

"So Doctor, what progress have you made?"

The scientist turned to face his current benefactor. "I've barely been able to generate the first serum. This blood you gave me, it's something else. It is extremely resistant to injections I make. I had to try breaking some of its genetic code and plug that into my serum. A bit of a reversal and a slow process, but once this serum is tested, the pace should pick up."

"Excellent, I have a subject waiting for it."

"Where is this subject?"

"Preparing to head into the field, lab tests only prove so much. I want to see how it functions in the real world." Slade's eye then narrowed. "Where's the serum?"

Dr. Anima held up the serum. It was contained in an injector designed as an epidermic pen. "How am I supposed to get data on its effectiveness?"

Slade snatched the pen out of the scientist's hand. "Don't worry, I'll let you know how well it works." The cunning villain disappeared into the shadows of the doctor's lab.

* * *

Beast Boy put his breakfast dishes in the sink and headed back up to his room while the others were still eating breakfast. Raven watched him with concern as he left.

Cyborg commented, "That was strange."

Robin asked, "What, Beast Boy not talking about or offering for one of us to try his tofu eggs and bacon?"

"No, he never bugged Raven this morning. He usually makes some kind of comment or at least tries to tell one bad joke the first time he sees her."

"He doesn't always talk with me in the morning," rebuffed Raven.

Cyborg smirked. "Name me the last time that happened before today then?"

Raven paused and tried to think of a time when he hadn't made some gesture or told some bad pun at a meal. She meekly answered, "He didn't for the first three days after Terra betrayed us and let all those Sladebots into the Tower."

"That's kind of my point. The dude was in the pits that last time that happened."

Starfire contested, "But he was clearly sad then. Right now he's still smiles, so he can't be that sad."

Robin interjected, "He's probably still getting use to all those changes. Just give him some time and he'll be fine."

The trouble alarm went off. The Titans promptly went to the computer. As Robin quickly pulled up the alert, Beast Boy returned to the main room.

Robin briefed the team. "Adonis, he's causing havoc at the exercise park downtown. Titans, let's go!"

* * *

Adonis tossed a two hundred pound weight onto a bench press station, destroying it. "You guys spent all your time lifting these weights and you're still a bunch of weaklings. Not a suitable challenger among you to take on Adonis." He made the pectorals of his red suit jiggle, then picked up another weight and tossed it at a leg press station. Before it hit, a black aurora surrounded it and forced it harmlessly to the ground. Robin announced the Titan's presence.

"Maybe you should try hitting the weights when you get back to jail. It'll save you money from not having to keep repairing that suit."

The cocky villain just motioned with his hand for them to come and get him. All five Titans charged into battle.

Beast Boy had the first shot at him. Running as a ram, he lowered his head. Instead of meeting him with muscle, Adonis side stepped him at the last moment with a burst of speed. The green hero wound up ramming head first into a tree.

"Not only am I stronger, but my latest upgrade makes me faster too." He then felt Cyborg's sonic cannon and Starfire's bolts smash into his back. Their combined force pushed him forward, but did not damage the suit. The villain used his new speed to quickly close the gap between him and Cyborg. The velocity of his punch sent Cyborg about fifteen yards backwards.

Suddenly, he was hit from above with avalanche of dumb bells, weighted bars, and the weights that attach to the bars. Starfire looked over a Raven.

"Do you think that was a bit too much?"

Adonis rose from the pile, some cracks in his suit, but no major damage.

"I'll say no."

Robin then jumped down from a tree and put an electrical discharge disk on his back. A few seconds after he leapt off, the charge shocked the entire suit. The material around Adonis's actual body gave way and he fell out his armor.

Beast Boy walked up rubbing his head as Cyborg walked up brushing some grass of his arms. The robotic Titan spoke.

"I think that's record time for beating him. The more upgrades he gets, the quicker he goes down."

Adonis spat out, "I really didn't want to use this, but let's see how you handle me now." He pulled out an epidermic pen, took off the needle cover, and jammed it into his thigh. Within moments his body swiftly grew and sprouted red hair. Adonis had transformed back into his werebeast form with one change from his previous transformation experience. His muscle mass had clearly increased, which made him stronger than he had ever been.

He instantly jumped and landed an uppercut to Starfire who had been floating above. Robin threw three explosion discs and Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at Adonis. Their attacks made direct contact. Descending from the smoke was the werebeast, but it was completely unarmed. Beast Boy had changed into a gorilla and threw a punch at his foe. The werebeast dodged it within a hair's breadth and counter attacked by elbowing the green hero in his back. Beast Boy went flying and bounced between some of the trees like a pinball.

Adonis kept moving around the Titans, not letting them get a clear reading on his movements.

"Man if we could only get this thing to slow down, we have a decent shot on him," complained Cyborg as the Titans kept moving around themselves so they wouldn't be sitting targets.

Suddenly the red blur halted as Beast Boy leapt back into the fray as a Sasquatch and landed a punch. The werebeast crashed into the ground and paused a moment to get back on its feet. With the Adonis not moving at top speed for a moment, Raven took the opportunity and restrained him with her energy.

"Starfire! Cyborg! Hit him now!" shouted Robin as he threw more exploding discs. Cyborg shot both of his sonic cannons and Starfire fired beams from her hands and eyes. All the attacks connected with their target. While he was concealed by a cloud of smoke, Raven gave the group unwanted news.

"He's still struggling. I can't hold him much-" She was silenced as she was thrown back by the creature breaking her energy restraints. As she was falling backwards in an airborne state, Adonis appeared above her and kicked with both his feet, sending her into the ground and temporarily stunning her. He landed and stood over Raven, cocking back his left claw to strike her head.

Before he could swing, Beast Boy, now in his werebeast form, tackled Adonis off her. The two animals engaged each other, trading blows and moving around the park at incredible speeds.

"I can barely follow them. Mas y Menos or Kid Flash would keep up easily, but I sure can't," stated Cyborg.

"They seem to be even," commented Robin.

The two Titans heard groaning behind them. Looking back they saw Raven sitting up as Starfire kneeled beside her. The red haired beauty inquired, "Are you okay?"

Standing up Raven replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned her attention towards the sounds of the battling werebeasts.

Slowly the tide of battle was turning in Adonis's favor. Once the tide was in his favor, Adonis quickly gained more of an upper hand. Soon he was using Beast Boy's werebeast form as a personal punching bag.

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Everyone we need to fall back. Cyborg we'll need you to make another antidote to what you made last time. Right now we're…"

Beast Boy's body crashed into between the two pairs of Titans. Before any of the four could start to move towards Beast Boy, Adonis appeared behind Cyborg and Robin. Punching their kidney areas simultaneously, he had the two other male Titans doubled over in pain.

"Robin!" Starfire bolted towards her boyfriend's side only to have Adonis's claw grab her face and force her to the ground.

Raven threw a dumb bell and hit Adonis in the head. The creature turned and growled at her before charging. The sorceress back pedaled as she drew him away from her friends. _If I get him far enough away, I can phase into the ground and head back towards them. Then I'll get everyone out of here._

Adonis caught up with her quicker than she had expected. Raven phased through the ground and came up behind him. Without turning around, the creature jumped backwards and whacked her head with the back of his. _This thing beat me badly last time, but now it seems more powerful. Not good_,Raven thought as the blow's force started to send her backwards. Before she even went three feet, the werebeast spun around and landed a roundhouse kick into her hip, causing Raven to let out a cry of pain.

The sound of Raven's voice caught Beast Boy's attention. Though still in his werebeast form, the green Titan could barely move his beaten body. He saw Adonis landing punch after punch on Raven. The red werebeast clasped his claws together. With tremendous force, it brought them down as a single fist and landed on Raven's shoulder, sending her to the ground. She laid there unconscious as Adonis zoomed towards her like a missile.

Beast Boy closed his eyes to concentrate. _Come on body, move. Move! MOVE! _Something inside him snapped and he let out a thunderous sound that was a cross between a snarl and a howl.

Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin all looked over at Beast Boy. Their friend's body was becoming shorter. His powerful, semi-bulky muscles were now compressing into an extremely lean, taut sinew. His pawed feet and clawed hands reduced in size but kept their humanoid, animalistic shape. The long mane shortened so it ended at his shoulders. Beast Boy's body was now at his untransformed size proportions. He was still covered in the werebeast's green fur, had paws for feet, and claws for hands. Beast Boy's facial features returned to their regular looks, except instead of seeing pupils in or the whites of his eyes, they were glowing green like Starfire's eyes could, except they were a darker shade of green.

This new werebeast form shot up from the ground and intercepted Adonis in midair before he even got close to Raven. The green werebeast was now mercilessly thrashing Adonis's werebeast form from every conceivable direction. The red werebeast was completely powerless to do anything against Beast Boy's new, slightly more humanoid werebeast form. After rearing back his left fist, the green fighter connected with a punch that sent Adonis through two trees and crashing up against a third. Seconds after colliding with that tree, Adonis lost his werebeast transformation and changed back into his human form.

"He did it," Starfire joyfully declared. Her joy quickly turned to concern as she saw the green werebeast charging towards the defenseless Adonis. "Beast Boy, he's defeated."

Cyborg quickly activated his Sonic Cannon and fired a shot between Beast Boy and Adonis causing the werebeast to stop temporarily. "Star, I don't think BB's in total control right now."

The trio of conscious Titans heard the werebeast howl and saw the glowing green eyes glare at them. Running at full sprint, the creature charged their position. Robin swiftly pulled out three flash grenades. "Get ready."

When Beast Boy was within a couple of yards, Robin threw the flash grenades to blind him. Before they could explode, the werebeast jumped to the side and bounced off a park bench. As the werebeast lunged at Robin, Starfire fired a few starbolts. Those shots knocked the green fighter to the side for a moment. Hastily recovering, Beast Boy managed to narrowly avoid the discharge from Cyborg's Sonic Cannon. The werebeast quickly maneuvered around the park and got behind Cyborg. Beast Boy backhanded his opponent and sent Cyborg to the ground. As the semi-robotic Titan looked up, he saw a green fist heading straight for his face. Suddenly that fist and the rest of Beast Boy's body were surrounded by black energy. Looking to his left, Cyborg saw Raven partially kneeling on the ground. He turned his attention back to Beast Boy. The green werebeast wasn't fighting the energy restraint, but seemed to be struggling with some kind of cognitive dissonance.

"Come on BB, I know you're in there. Get a hold of yourself," encouraged Cyborg.

Raven attempted to channel her thoughts through energy that was restraining Beast Boy. _The battle's over now; it's time for you to change back so we can all just head back home. _

The muscles in his arms seemed to tense up. Then those muscles relaxed as the glow in Beast Boy's eyes faded. His fur retracted as his hands and feet returned to their normal form. A few moments after returning to his humanoid form, Beast Boy slumped to the ground. "Oh man, what just happened?" inquired the green hero as he put a hand to his forehead.

Robin walked up to the group after cuffing Adonis. "Beast Boy, there's something you should know…"

* * *

Beast Boy promptly sat up in his bed as he woke the next morning, soaked in his own sweat. _That dream again. It's bad enough I've already transformed into that thing, but to worry what it might do to Raven and the others is just…just…unnerving_. He glanced over at the clock. _Well, at least I actually got some sleep. I made it to eight o'clock this time._

After getting a quick shower and changing into fresh clothes, Beast Boy headed to the Tower's living area. Coming from the room was Starfire with Silkie in her arms.

"Good Morning Star!"

"Morning, Beast Boy. Do you wish to go with Silkie and me to get him some more food?"

"Not this time Star. I need to get some food into me instead."

"Okay, maybe next time then," Starfire replied before she went on her way.

Now entering the Tower's living area, Beast Boy saw Namash meditating by the window.

_Man, I thought Raven meditated a lot. She's got nothing on this guy._"Yo, dude. I'm getting ready to fix some tofu eggs. You want some?"

Without turning to face Beast Boy, the monk replied, "Sure."

A few minutes later, Beast Boy had finished cooking. "It's ready if you're still hungry." Namash stopped meditating and came over to the breakfast nook. The green teen continued, "You know, you're the first person to stay in the Tower besides me who actually likes tofu?"

The monk slightly smiled. "These dishes of tofu are similar to ones my wife cooked. She used a food called twomushfu which seems to be very similar to your tofu. I think you would have enjoyed her cooking."

"What all did she make from two…mush… that tofu type stuff?"

"Well, one of her favorite dishes to make was…"

* * *

"Hmmm, this observational data is most…intriguing," spoke Dr. Anima.

"What about the cognitive regression?" demanded Slade.

"Not sure if there is any way to eliminate that side effect. This new serum would have to be tested on someone different to be sure."

"I have an operative in mind. Give me the serum."

Dr Anima gave an audible huff. "Fine. This partnership seems to not be paying off too well for me you know," he grunted as he handed Slade the injector.

Slade pocketed the epidermic pen. "You'll get your dues. Just have a little patience."

* * *

Mammoth dropped a huge crate full of diamonds to take a quick breath. "Man, I knew gold bricks were heavy, but I didn't think diamonds were."

"Maybe you should stick to lifting weights at a gym for a workout," Cyborg quipped behind the villain.

The genetically altered man turned to see all five Titans blocking his only exit out of the vault he was in.

Robin gave an ultimatum. "It's five on one. Why don't you just give yourself up now and spare yourself the trouble of being dragged to jail?"

Mammoth grinned maniacally as he pulled out an epidermic pen. Robin, quickly recognizing it as being an exact duplicate of the one Adonis used, threw a bird-a-rang at the villain's hand. It was too late though as Mammoth quickly injected himself with the serum.

Robin quickly thought of a plan. "Everyone get out. Raven close and hold the vault door shut as long as you can. Starfire, melt the sides to help buy us some time. Cyborg, get back to the Tower as quick as you can. Make that antidote you made for Beast Boy and Adonis a couple of years ago as quickly as you can and get back here."

As Cyborg took off, Beast Boy spoke. "What do you need me to do?"

"For now rest. If Mammoth gets loose, we're going to need everything we've got to keep him here in time for Cyborg to get back."

As Starfire was melting the sides of the vault, Raven held the door closed with her powers as the entire building seem to shake from Mammoth slamming his fists against the vault door. A few seconds after Starfire had finished her part of the plan, the vault door began to crack.

"Titans, get ready," Robin ordered.

The center of the vault broke into rubble and fell to the ground. Mammoth emerged from the other side. His body was covered in fur that was the same color was his head hair. Instead taking a form similar to Adonis, Mammoth looked more like yeti. The newly transformed villain picked up a piece of the debris and hurled it towards Robin and Beast Boy. The duo easily dodged with Robin counter attacking with some explosion discs.

Mammoth was knocked down by the explosions, but suffered no debilitating damage. He hastily rolled to the side to avoid a barrage of starbolts from the Tamaranian Titan. Jumping to his feet, he saw Beast Boy in mid air as the green Titan changed into a Sasquatch. Mammoth purposely fell backwards and kicked his adversary into the air. Beast Boy changed into a monkey and regained his balance by grapping onto a rafter.

No sooner had Beast Boy been forced into the air, two large carts crashed onto Mammoth. Raven soon hovered over to the pile of debris. After a few moments of seeing no movement she raised a suspicious eyebrow. Suddenly, the ground behind her exploded upward and a big, furry hand reached up and grabbed her throat. Everyone abruptly heard a loud pop sound. Mammoth's gripped immediately limped as his eyes rolled back. He rapidly fell to his side as his fur started to recede. Stuck in his butt was a needle. Looking directly behind Mammoth, towards the doorway, the four Titans saw Cyborg smirking. The smug Titan cockily uttered, "Booyah."

"Let's get him to jail. I need to do some researching to figure out who might be supplying that mutagenic injector," stated Robin.

As the Titans were leaving, Starfire looked up towards Beast Boy. "Friend, are you coming?"

"Yeah Star, I'll be down in a moment." After the other Titans had left the area, Beast Boy slowly released the tight grip he had on the metal rafter. His arm and hand were ever so slightly shaking. Looking down at the rafter, he saw imprints were his fingers had been. _That's not good. I wasn't even in the werebeast form and my body seemed to start transforming into the evolved form of it. If Cyborg hadn't shown up when he did… _Beast Boy shook his head to help regain his composure. _This isn't a good sign. Not a good sign at all._

* * *

Dr. Anima pored over his computer files. _I can't find any way around it. To have more human like intelligence, I have to sacrifice some of the primal and instinctual power components of the serum. The genetic code aspects I seem to be able to break only give me part of what I need. The parts I couldn't break must hold the key to having the primal, instinctual aspects work in sync with a human's intelligence. Plus the serum's effects aren't permanent. The best this could be used for would be a temporary army or a mutagenic terrorism bluff. _"I only have enough material to make one more serum. I can see which way Slade would prefer the serum to lean. I'll make it, sell it to him, and be done with all this. I guess as least I got to further my research and make some money in the end."

* * *

Aku Nefar watched as the spell encompassing his discovery continued its influence. _I've never known anyone to take this long. Usually they either succumb and accept the power or utterly reject it and fight back. You might become the most powerful underling I've ever had. It should make the conquest of this world all the more satisfying. _The demon sensed the barrier he had erected to shield his presence from detection starting to weaken. _You're also making me have to reinforce this barrier more times than I ever have before too. _He began to chant. "Qi Yiqi Bushi Ni, Qi Yiqi Bushi Ni, Qi Yiqi Bushi Ni…"


	5. Twist and Turns

**Chapter 5: Twist and Turns**

Beast Boy sat on the floor in his room as he mulled over his growing problem. _I've lost track of how many nights in a row it's been with me having that same nightmare. If that dream wasn't bad enough, I couldn't control my transformation against Adonis. I could feel myself slipping against Mammoth yesterday. To top it off, this morning I had that odd attraction and urge to focus on Raven's neck as she meditated in the living room. _He exhaled. "My time in the Doom Patrol helped me to actively think and select which animal I wanted to be instead of just trusting how I felt. But I haven't had this feeling of a lack of control while in any transformed state since…since…" Beast Boy closed his eyes as certain memories came to the forefront of his mind. He shook his head to clear those images. _At this rate, I'll end up being more of a danger to everyone. I really don't have a choice. Going back to that area before my time in the Doom Patrol is probably the best shot I have at getting everything back under control before something bad happens. _The ending imagery of his reoccurring dream popped into his mind's eye. _Or something absolutely horrific happens._

* * *

Cyborg stretched after disconnecting himself from his bedroom computer. "It took almost a full hour, but all anti-virus programs are now updated." His stomached loudly grumbled. "Now, it's time for some food." He promptly made his way into the hallway and down to the Tower's main room. Cyborg pulled a five pound rack of baby back ribs out of the refrigerator and turned around. On the counter, he saw a letter with a Teen Titans Communicator resting on top the paper. Setting the food to the side, Cyborg picked up the note and read it.

As the cybertronic hero read the letter, Robin and Starfire came into the room. Robin announced, "Cyborg, I've been investigating the source of that serum Adonis and Mammoth used. We should gather everyone up and prepare to head over to the abandoned chemical lab on the southeast end of the city. Do you know where Beast Boy and Raven are?"

Cyborg raised his eyes from the paper. "Raven went to the bookstore and should be back soon." After pausing, he continued, "As for BB, well." Cyborg held out the letter. Robin took the paper and quickly scanned it. As its contents began to sink in, Raven arrived back to the Tower. She entered the lounge area to see three of her compatriots with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Did I miss something?" she questioned.

Robin held out the letter for her to take and read.

**Cy, Star, Robin, and Raven,**

**Over these past few weeks, I've been keeping something secret from you all as my powers seem to be undergoing some changes. The awareness of who I am and who those around me are has become weaker. Some instincts have even started to manifest when I'm not transformed. At this time, I can't stay and risk the chance of losing myself and hurting someone. So, I've decided to resign from the Teen Titans. I hope going through the rigors I experienced years ago will help me to regain the proper command of my powers.**

**Robin- I've learned a lot about leadership from you. I'll be back before you can think of too many ways to compensate for missing my awesome skills.**

**Star- Don't go making that pudding of sadness stuff. It's nasty. Instead, make some good tofu meals for Silkie. I'll be back before you know it.**

**Cy- I'll stomp you in video games when I get back. I'll come up with some new pranks to pull on you while I'm away too. You won't know what'll hit you when I get back.**

**Raven- Don't forget to smile and laugh. Listen to a good joke at least once a day. If no one can tell you a good joke, you can read some out of the joke books in my room.**

**Yours in Awesomeness,**

**Beast Boy**

Raven didn't express any emotion or say anything as she set the letter down and headed for her room.

After she exited the main room, Robin commented. "She took that really hard."

"You sure about that?" doubted Cyborg.

"I remember when you quit the team a few years ago after our fight about who messed up in that fight against Cinderblock. I was at the window when Star offered her pudding of sadness to Raven. As usual Raven tried to be nonchalant about it and said something like 'people come, people go, it's pointless to be upset about Cyborg'. This time though, she didn't even try to rationalize and minimize the event."

Starfire interposed, "I hope Raven will be alright."

"She just needs some space," Robin advised. "In the meantime we can prepare to head over to that abandoned animal research facility. We can't let Beast Boy's hiatus derail us from what we need to do."

Meanwhile, Raven opened the door to her room. Just inside her room on the floor was a folded piece of paper. She picked it up and noticed it was another letter from Beast Boy.

**Raven,**

**While I've said everything I wanted to say to the others in my letter to everyone, there is one more thing I wanted to say to you.**

**I've been inside your mind. I saw how you hideaway so much of who you are. Please remember, they're **_**all**_** a part of you who are. Don't try to keep them locked up behind some emotional dam. Instead, let them flow through you like a river. Just because I'm not there doesn't mean I'm giving up on getting you to smile once a day. You never know what life may throw your way, so enjoy every moment you can. Like I said, the joke books are in my room. Remember, us turtles know what's up.**

**Beast Boy**

Taped below Beast Boy's signature was a tiny, green origami turtle.

* * *

Dr. Anima held up serum injector and spoke across a table. "Alright Slade, let's get this over with. Pay me for the serum."

"You failed to create a serum which balances human intelligence and the power of a beast. I obtained for you supplies that you could never have gotten on your own to get this far. I never got what you promised me, so why should I pay for it. I think I'll just take it instead," replied the criminal mastermind.

Before Slade could advance towards Dr. Anima, a bird-a-rang descended and broke the device in the scientist's hand. Slade looked up and saw the four Titans overlooking the villainous duo. Robin's eyes narrowed at his nemesis.

"Slade, you're slipping if you're starting to get into actual partnerships."

"Robin, you should know me better than to think I would actually be slipping. Let alone leave myself openly vulnerable like this to be caught by surprise." Slade flipped a switch on the nearby wall to reveal about thirty Sladebots surrounding the Titans, Dr. Anima, and himself.

Robin swiftly jumped down and took out two robots as he attempted to make his way towards an escaping Slade. The experienced criminal masterfully disappeared from sight, using the other robots for cover.

The other three Titans joined in and with Robin easily destroyed the Sladebots since they mainly acted as a shield and not as an offensive fighting force. Robin clenched his fist in irritation at how easily he allowed Slade to escape. The sound of a chair hitting the ground made him turn around in time to see Dr. Anima pulling a tattered book from a safe. The masked hero projected his voice, "Stop!"

The scientist didn't even look back as he started to run for the nearest exit to escape into the rainy night. Robin quickly threw one of his cords with weighted balls at the ends to ensnare the lawbreaker's legs. Dr. Anima soon fell forward through the doorway leading outside. The book fell out of his hands and slid and into a puddle of water. He screamed out, "NO! The Journal!"

The Titans soon caught up to him. Raven walked outside and picked the journal out of the puddle. Between the puddle and the drizzling rain, all the red lettering had become illegible. She held the soggy journal and turned to face the captured crook. "What's so important about this book?"

Dr. Anima promptly responded. "It was evidence that the perfection of my work is possible: mutation that would allow for ultimate power, but retention of human cognitive faculties. That firsthand account was written in the blood of a first generation mutant."

Robin interjected. "Thanks for the information. Let's get you to the authorities so we can call it a night."

As the group left the facility, Raven pondered. _Retention of human thought despite the changes of a mutation. That's what Beast Boy is working through right now. If I could find a way to restore the letters, this journal might be able to help him._

* * *

Aku's sadistic grin grew as he watched his soon to be underling. _So, you've finally made your choice. The spell of Akvan will grant you the needed power to break free of your entrapment now that you've chosen to embrace the parts of you that most others would deem evil. I sense the change within you and I couldn't be more pleased. The power within this girl will suit my needs perfectly._

* * *

Raven scoured through the Book of Azar and the rest of her mystic resources in an attempt to find a way to restore the journal the Titans had obtained from Dr. Anima. She sighed with disappointment as her pursuit ended in failure. Seeking to ease her emotional agitation, Raven went up to the Titan's Tower rooftop. When she walked outside, she saw Namash meditating. Hit with inspiration, Raven drifted over to a few feet behind him.

"Namash?"

Without turning around, he softly replied, "Yes?"

"Do you know of any spells that can restore lettering that has been smeared to the point of being unreadable?"

Before the monk could answer, Cyborg had come onto the rooftop. "Hey Raven, do you have that journal? I was thinking of doing an analysis on it to see if maybe the blood that made up the letters could reveal something."

Namash turned around to face Raven and Cyborg. The Azarathian asked Raven, "Is the journal he speaks of the item that contains the writing you wish to restore?" Cyborg raised an eyebrow as Raven nodded. Namash continued. "I do not know of any spell to restore writings. But there is a spell that allows people to witness what was written as if they were in the story or documentary themselves. If the blood is of the writer, you would even witness some events that weren't written but still experienced by the writer."

Cyborg inquired, "How would it work?"

"The caster and those with him or her would be transported into the world the writings described. While basically unseen spirits, they would witness firsthand the events described in the writings, as long as the events actually happened. If the writing is a work of fiction, the caster and anyone else will be in the actual story and can be harmed by the events as they unfold. Either way, once the spell is cast, you won't be able to leave until the end of the writings."

"Will you teach it to me?" asked Raven.

"It's quite simple. Draw a yin yang symbol on the ground. Place the book in the center. All those wishing to journey should be physically touching the book as the caster chants, 'Kuai Kuai Qi Lai' at the same caster focuses channeling power into the book."

Cyborg suggested to Raven, "We should let Robin know what we're going to do in case something comes up while we're inside the journal."

Raven nodded in agreement.

* * *

Cyborg finished drawing the yin yang symbol on the floor of Beast Boy's room as Raven placed the journal in the middle of the circle. As the two friends sat down and placed a hand on the book's cover, Raven spoke the incantation. The symbol beneath them began to glow and bask the duo in a soft light. Suddenly the room around them disappeared. Looking down, the journal began to vanish as they started to hear sounds of wildlife. As the setting and people began to appear around them, their eyes went wide as they saw the individual responsible for writing the journal materialize in front of them. He was a young child with green skin. Raven briefly reached out to see if this green child was Beast Boy, but her hand passed right through him.

Her companion spoke. "I guess this is a true account since we seem to not be a part of the actual story here. Given Dr. Anima mentioned this was a firsthand account, do you think this might actually be something BB wrote?"

Before Raven could answer, they heard a motherly voice call out as the story around them began to unfold in front of their eyes.

"**Garfield. We need to get going if we're going to the sea before lunchtime."**

**The green skinned child turned and hurried towards his mother. "Coming Mom!" The young boy changed into a dog as he made his way to the jeep his parents was sitting in. As soon as he jumped up into the vehicle, his father started it and began driving towards the sea. A little while later the family arrived at a port that had a small boat docked to the pier.**

**Garfield transformed into a monkey and got out of jeep after it had come to a complete stop. As she watched her son playfully meander ahead of them, Marie Logan asked her husband, "I know it's only been a few weeks, but do you think he'll start getting control of his transformations soon. His skin turning green last month was shocking enough after the antidote you made saved his life, but I would like to see my son's actual face for me than some fleeting moments."**

**Mark refilled his smoking pipe as he walked and replied, "He'll be fine. For a five year old, I think he's doing great. Especially since he's only starting to get over the Sakutia."**

**When the family reached the boat, they heard a voice call out from behind them. "Mark, a word please?"**

**The father looked back and narrowed his eyes as he recognized the visitor coming towards them. Mark motioned to Marie to get on the boat with their son. Garfield looked back towards his father to see him talking with some guy in a suit. The child couldn't hear what was being said, but could tell his father wasn't pleased. Soon the suited gentleman stormed off and Mark boarded the boat.**

**Marie looked on with concern. "They still want the formula don't they?"**

**Mark answered, "I've told them it's too dangerous. Especially since I believe they only want to use it as a tool for war. We only risked it because our son would have died for sure if we didn't." His face softened. After placing a soft kiss on his wife's cheek, he continued, "Don't worry about them. Let's just enjoy excursion."**

"**Okay," she replied with a smile. She then felt a hand tugging at her skirt.**

"**Mommy, you promised to show me how you and Daddy study the fishies."**

**She looked down at her son. "I did promise." Marie walked her son over to the boat's glass floor and began to teach him about the wonders of undersea life. Hours passed. It was a little past nightfall as the shore came back into view. Garfield started to doze off on his mother's lap as his father steered the ship to the dock. Both parents noticed how their boy was trying to fight off sleeping. Marie stroked her son's hair.**

"**It's okay Garfield. Get some sleep; you've had a long day. We can read your favorite bedtime story tomorrow night." He quickly transformed into a cat and nestled into his mom's loving hug. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead. "Sleep well. As energetically cheerful as you are, you need every bit of it."**

**Garfield had the look of peaceful contentment as he closed his eyes and said, "Love you Mom. Love you Dad."**

**He heard his parents simultaneously answer, "I love you too," before he fell asleep.**

**The green skinned youth's eyes flew open as he felt his body tumble through debris after being violently thrown from an explosion. He had already subconsciously turned into fish before he realized he was underwater. Wreckage from the boat he and his parents were on was scattered in the water. The child frantically looked around to try and find his parents. Rapidly, he made his way to the surface and changed back to his human form when his head was above water. A searchlight soon shined down on him from a nearby boat. Garfield heard some shouts and saw a rope with a life preserver attached thrown out to him. He grabbed on and was pulled towards the boat. Once on the deck, one of the rescuers spoke condescendingly.**

"**It's just some freak with green skin. Let' get back to searching for any survivors of that explosion." Garfield opened his mouth to tell them he was on a boat with his parents, but one of the other rescuers gave him an order before he could speak.**

"**Green kid, go sit in a corner or something. We've got work to do."**

"**But-"**

"**No buts; just do it."**

**After hours of searching without results, the boat went back to the pier. The ship's crew ignored the child they actually found in the water and walked off the boat. Left alone and worried, the kid jumped back into the water and changed into a fish once more. He searched until sunrise, but couldn't find his parents. Garfield changed back as he came upon a nearby beach. On the beach, he saw a lot of debris from the boat he had been on with his parents. His eyes went wide with horror as he saw a human hand sticking out from underneath the wreckage.**

**The changeling quickly became a gorilla and started to remove the debris. Minutes later he removed a board to reveal his parents lying motionless. Garfield became a dog and nudged his mom and dad. Emotionally distraught, he uncontrollably started shifting through various animal forms as he grieved. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot and felt immediate pain in his left leg. No longing going through transformations in rapid succession, Garfield was now a wounded lion. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a group of people with rifles. Some in the group began to shout.**

"**I don't know what that it, but it isn't human." **

"**Look, it's killed a couple of people. Kill it before it harms anyone else!"**

**The young child couldn't control his emotions enough to return to his human state. In fright and despair, he transformed into a mole and hastily burrowed into the ground for safety. He dug a tunnel for hours on end and eventually came back up at the hut he had stayed with his parents at the night before. Turning into a dog again, he went inside the hut, curled up and whimpered himself to sleep.**

The scenery around Cyborg and Raven faded. They soon found themselves in a tunnel with images, as if pictures were starting to make their way towards them. Those pictures showed glimpses of Beast Boy as he traveled. He practiced his transformations for months until he could control them better, survived by turning into different herbivores to eat the vegetation he saw them eating, and occasionally made some friends with weary villagers. One even gave him a blank book that Raven recognized as the journal she and Cyborg were currently witnessing. The villager friendships never lasted long. A few would ostracize him after witnessing a transformation, but most actively attempted to kill him because of his mutant powers.

Through it all, the green boy endured and grew. He made his way across land and over oceans. Occasionally finding reading material people had discarded. The only items that were consistently legible seemed to be joke books and cereal boxes. One image in particular left Raven feeling a little guilty of a condescending assumption she had made a few years back. It showed Beast Boy putting together different backs of cereal boxes that were describing American history.

The area around them began to reform. The duo saw Beast Boy talking with an elderly lady.

"**My, my, you seem quite young** **to be out here all by yourself. Strange green skin you have too."**

"**I've been green for a really long time. I really don't have a place to call home either."**

"**You sound like you've been through some hard times. Like those other people who came through here a few days ago. This village was attacked by a bunch of robotic soldiers, led by a general who looked even older than me. Those four came right on in here, saved us, and went on their way. I think they called themselves the Doom Patrol."**

**The green boy's eyes sparkled with hope. **_**Maybe they'll take me in and not chase me away. **_**"Which way did they go?"**

**The old lady pointed east.**

"**Thanks!" Garfield waved goodbye before changing into a hawk and flew eastward.**

The scene shift to just outside the Doom Patrol's base. Cyborg and Raven saw Beast Boy writing in the journal outside a tiny air shaft. Looking over his shoulder, they saw the last words he wrote in his journal.

_**It's been so long since I had a place to call home. I remember Mom and Dad always looking for the best in any situation. I've had my struggles, but from here on out I can be a hero. I'll show these guys what I'm made of by getting into their base. This shaft is my best way in, but too small to take this journal with me. It's up to me now. I'll live life by the things my parents loved about me: my cheerfulness and energetic personality. If anyone finds and reads this, know that if you ever need a smile, come find me. I'll tell you a good joke.**_

The world around the two Titans faded. Raven and Cyborg soon found themselves surrounded by the same light that had first encompassed them at the beginning of the spell. That light dimmed and they found themselves back in Beast Boy's room. The yin yang symbol below them had completely vanished. All that was left was the illegible journal on the floor.

Both of them were speechless. They had started this endeavor thinking they might find a way to help Beast Boy. Never in their wildest imaginations did they expect the journal to be written by their friend. Cyborg got up and left Raven alone in Beast Boy's room to collect her own thoughts and feelings.

Raven could only stare at the tattered journal. _I had the weight of what I thought my destiny was as a child. Even then, I still had the monks and my mother to take care of me. Beast Boy, you always seemed so much my opposite. Cheerful, outgoing, social, and a curiosity that leads you to places you shouldn't go without asking, like my room. It was really simplistic. Yet, every now and then something would show a more serious side to you. On rare occasions, you would show a profound, insightful side. Now I think I understand a little more about those sides of you that you don't show us very often. _She closed her eyes. _I hope wherever you are, you find what you need to regain control and come back to the team._

* * *

A few weeks passed since Beast Boy abruptly left the tower. Each Titan dealt with the change in their respective way. Cyborg and Robin tended to train and play sports or video games against each other a little more. Starfire spent more time with Silkie. Raven found more time to meditate, but noticed the effectiveness of her sessions was decreasing.

One morning, as she was pouring herself some herbal tea, Namash walked into the room. His wrappings had started to become tattered and loose enough to expose some previously covered areas, like the area around his collarbone. He walked up to the counter Raven was at.

"Pardon me, but do you know where I might find some more wrappings?"

Raven answered as she turned to face him. "There're supplies of that sort in the training room." As Raven's eyes shifted from her cup to the Tower's non-Titan resident, she noticed a peculiar mark at the base of Namash's neck. "How did you get that bite mark? It must have been a dangerous fight if you got bit there."

Namash smiled with amusement. "It wasn't a fight at all. Feelesh was the one who actually bit me."

"Feelesh…that's a demon you've mentioned before. In the conversation we had when you were telling me that demons aren't inherently evil."

"Feelesh was more than just an uncorrupted demon. Before Aku killed her, she became the love of my life. This bite is a symbol of that."

Raven raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "She loved you so she bit you?"

Namash took a seat on one of the stool chairs by the counter. "That's right; you're fairly unfamiliar with aspects of a demon's idiosyncrasies. If you have the time, I'll try and explain some of them right now." _It would make Feelesh proud to know that some half demons born to corrupted demons are finding the path of truth and justice._

Raven sat in a stool chair at the opposite end of the counter. Namash started his explanation.

"Demons don't exactly marry their love like Azarathians did. They usually bite each other at the base of the neck during a mutual, intense expression of the feelings they share. You could say it's a type of bonding or mating ritual without the pomp of circumstance of a ceremony. I say usually because in some cases like with Feelesh and me, I didn't bite back. I just didn't have the instinct to, so ours was incomplete when compared to two demons." He paused for a moment.

"I treasure this mark. With it, I know Feelesh is with me as I continue my quest to destroy Aku." Namash unconsciously clenched his fist. "Because of him, my beloved and our son, Ferno, are dead. Ferno had just begun to learn how to change into his full demon form to better help others too."

Raven's eye sparkled briefly with interest. "So when Ferno went from half-demon to full demon, he maintained his self-awareness so he could help people?"

Namash studied Raven's body language as he contemplated her question. "That's right, you've only knew demons as evil beings before I arrived here. You probably think controlling your emotions and suppressing them are one and the same." Raven nodded in confirmation of his assessment. "Suppressing your emotions isn't the same thing. I would wager that at best, you've had one or two emotions come through and lead you to a demonic form that has your energy act as extra appendages." The monk stroked his chin for a few moments. "Come to think of it, in my vision when you defeated Trigon, your clothes had changed to a pristine white. That shows you were allowing all your emotions to work together in balance. To initially achieve a true demonic form, two conditions must be met. First, your emotions must be working together in balance, similar to the state you were in when you defeated Trigon. The second condition is harder. One of those emotions must promptly rise as you try to use your powers, but can't. The inability to access your power can either be due to complete exhaustion of them or because those powers are somehow sealed away so you have absolutely no access to that wellspring of power. After the initial acquisition of the half-demon's true demon form, that individual can access the form and the power it provides at will." Namash studied Raven as she was unmistakably contemplating what she had just heard.

_I need something to help me get better control of my emotions. Especially since mediating seems to be getting less helpful after Beast Boy left. Maybe in learning how to control my emotions so they can be in the state that might lead to this true demonic form I can find the ability to control my emotions. _"Namash, would you be willing to help me control my emotions better instead of just suppressing them?"

_Feelesh…Ferno…this child reminds me so much of you two. _Allowing a faint smile to appear across his face, the monk replied, "Sure, let's start first thing tomorrow morning."

* * *

Raven and Namash landed on the rocky shore of the Titan Tower's island around midmorning the next day. They had just come back from the nearby desolate landscape where Raven had her first day of Namash's training. As they strolled on up to the tower, she commented, "I really didn't make much progress this morning did I?"

"No, but you've practiced suppressing your emotions for a long time now. It's harder to break a habit than it is to start a new one." As the front door came into view, Namash noticed three people waiting outside. He pointed towards them. "I thought you said, no one was going to be back at the tower until this afternoon."

Raven looked in the direction of her teacher's gesture. Her eyes went wide as she saw Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. Melvin was sitting on a rock with Timmy's blanket draped over her back, obviously emotionally distraught. Timmy stood behind her as he looked on with concern. Teether was sitting on the ground in front of Melvin, looking up at her with concern on his face as well. Before Namash knew what happened, Raven had expeditiously propelled herself through the air and landed in front of the trio. Getting on one knee, Raven placed her right hand on Melvin's shoulder in an attempt to get the young girl's attention.

Without warning, Melvin bear hugged Raven. Not as a greeting, but in a desperate attempt for emotional support. Raven felt the few tears running down Melvin's cheek as the trio's leader sniffled. The Teen Titan softly whispered, "What happened?"

Melvin's agony was immensely evident in the voice tone of her answer.

"Bobby's dead."


	6. Aku Nefar

**Chapter 6: Aku Nefar**

Raven repositioned herself so Melvin was about a forearm's length away from her. The Teen Titan spoke softly. "Bobby's dead?" Melvin nodded. Raven continued, "How did he die?"

Timmy answered, "It's that dragon man's fault."

Namash promptly interjected, "What did this dragon man look like?"

Melvin started to describe her imaginary friend's murderer. "Well, he had skin like a lizard. He was orange and had really pointy fingernails. Three creepy eyes that-"

The monk impulsively jumped into the air with his staff. He swiftly fired a blast of energy from the staff's rings. Raven barely managed to raise a shield in time to protect Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. Namash descended towards the quartet with the Staff of Azar raised to strike at the erected barrier. Raven glared at the unexpected assailant as she began her counter attack. "Azarath Metrion, Zintho-"

The blue light of Cyborg's sonic cannon struck Namash in the back. That attack was quickly followed by an energy attack from Starfire hitting Namash's side. Before the monk could figure out what happened, his entire body was on the ground, constricted by high quality rope. Robin, with his metal rod, stood over the bound monk. The Titan's leader uttered his ultimatum. "You've got about thirty seconds to explain yourself."

Namash narrowed his eyes. "Those three kids have been infected by Aku! They saw him kill one of their friends. Alive I could understand escape, but they show no signs of injury. Aku must have infected them to start his conquest of this world!"

Melvin, with confusion in her voice, corrected the monk. "But the dragon man never touched us."

Namash retorted, "Then why did he fail to kill or at least injure you three?"

Teether naively answered. "The green man saved us."

All the Titans gazed in shock at the toddler. Melvin tried to clarify. "He was here after we came back from France a few months ago." The blond girl pointed at Cyborg. "I think the metal man called him BeeBee."

Raven lowered the shield she had raised around her three 'kids'. "Let's go inside and you can tell us what happened."

* * *

Melvin, Timmy, and Teether sat on the crescent couch while the Titans gathered around the trio. Namash sat off to the side, but was giving his full attention to the story that was about to be told. Melvin started the story, "We were all riding on Bobby as we watched the animals around us…"

**Teether softly clapped hands as the trio rode around the landscape on Bobby's back. The giant teddy bear came to a prompt stop as all the nearby zebra heads snapped to attention. The herd hastily sprinted towards the trio and passed right by them with looks of terror on their faces. About twenty yards in front of Bobby, the ground exploded upwards. Floating up out of the hole was a dragon humanoid. The orange scaled demon landed and stood on the ground with an air of supremacy.**

**Melvin whipsered to her two companions, "Bobby thinks we should get out of here."**

**The figure before them turned his attention towards the quartet. "This is a treat. My General won't finish preparing for a couple more hours, but I already have some fodder to test and see how much my powers have grown." An orange light began to generate between his hands.**

**As the bundle of light grew, Melvin, Timmy, and Teether slid off Bobby's back. The powerful imaginary friend charged the dragon figure. Bobby's adversary threw the ball of light like a grenade. It collided with Bobby and exploded. The giant teddy bear stormed through the dust and smacked his opponent backwards.**

"**Hmm. That explosion was the best I've ever had for a primary test. You're not even fazed. You should feel proud to take a direct hit from an attack delivered by the great Aku Nefar." The demon's air of confidence was quite apparent. The villain continued, "Since you're a being composed solely of aurora energy, I can use a unique attack." Aku drew a flame in the air in front of him. The symbol quickly multiplied until the demon's flames seemed to dance all around their creator. Aku gestured with two fingers for the flames to attack his adversary. Before anyone else could react Bobby was engulfed in flames.**

"**Bobby!" Melvin cried out as she raced towards her friend. Aku made a swat motion with his hand. This blasted the ground in front of Melvin with Aku's orange aurora. The young girl was knocked to the ground by the force. Falling from her possession was the communicator that Raven had given her.**

**Bobby's essence seemed to feed the flames as he disappeared from sight. Those flames shot back towards Aku Nefar and entered his mouth. The demon swallowed as if he had just tasted a scrumptious delicacy. After savoring his victory for a moment, he noticed Melvin reaching out to grab the communicator. He speedily formed another fire ball and blasted the circular device to pieces. "Now, now, we can't have anything interrupting the fun. I like to take my time and savor the fear, terror, and agony."**

**The demon started to approach Melvin, who was now shivering in both shock at Bobby's death and fear of her approaching assailant. Aku didn't even flinch as he was being hit by Timmy's sound attack and Teether eating and spitting out dirt bullets. When the demon was almost within arm's reach of Melvin, he spoke again. **

"**Now which ability should I test out on you? I know. Instead of burning you from the outside in, I'll incinerate you from the inside out." He lifted his arm and reached out to grab Melvin's head. With his palm mere inches from its target, it was forced to recoil in pain as a claw from a green lion struck the outstretched arm. Aku quickly put some distance between himself and his surprise attacker. While he wasn't bleeding, there was obvious damage to his scales. The animal was clearly placing himself between the demon and the trio of children. **_**Where did this creature come from? Did one of those three puny kids do this? I guess it doesn't really matter. This creature can die a quick death before this world goes to waste. **_**Promptly using his other palm, the demon shot flames like a flamethrower at the lion. To his shock the lion changed into a humming bird, avoiding the various streams of magical fire. The bird flew towards him, constantly changing its vertical and horizontal positioning. Once directly over Aku, the bird changed into a Stegosaurus. The dinosaur dropped onto the spot where the demon stood.**

**Aku scarcely managed to avoid the dinosaur. "A shapeshifter? I didn't think I'd come across one in this remote part of the universe. This is turning out to be quite an interesting planet."**

**The Stegosaurus changed into a bear and started to swing its front claws at the demon. Aku dodged them with ease as he continued to step backwards. The dragon-morph grinned. "Why don't we try kicking it up a notch?" He suddenly vanished from sight. Moments later he reappeared behind the bear and smacked it to the ground. Aku proceeded to stomp on his adversary, but the bear changed into a bug and quickly went into the ground.**

**The green fighter emerged from the ground as a badger that shot towards his foe. Aku managed to side step the attack, but the animal's claw cut this left cheek as he dashed by him. The demon's hand went to his cheek and felt a trickle of blood flow out of the wound. He chuckled before he spoke.**

"**You actually managed to wound me. Cherish this moment, for now you will die." The aurora around the demon intensified, the foreboding power sending chills down the three children's spines as they continued to watch the battle.**

_**I guess I might as well try it out. I've barely kept up and now he keeps getting stronger**_**,****thought the green warrior. As Aku was almost done building his power, his adversary changed into his true form. Clearly standing before Aku now was Beast Boy. Aku taunted, "So you finally show your true face. Giving up already?"**

**Beast Boy stared determinedly at the demon. "No, I just can't transform into the form I need to beat you from my other transformations. It has to be from as I am now." Within seconds, Beast Boy changed into his evolved werebeast form.**

"**Ooo, I'm so terrified," mocked Aku. The demon then used his tremendous speed and disappeared again. Before he reappeared, the Beast stuck out his elbow to his right side and clocked Aku right in his temple. The demon skidded in the ground before gathering himself. As he raised his head to get a bearing on his opponent, he felt a forearm smack him in the back. The force of the blow sent him skidding again in the opposite direction. This time the demon used his mystic powers to stop himself in midair. The sudden stop felt like another blow as the inertia passed through him. Aku saw Beast Boy appear in the spot he would have been seconds later. **_**What is going on? I've been all over the universe. The only foe even close to my power is Namash, but even then…**_

**The dragon-morph stopped his train of thought when he saw Beast Boy and launched himself towards the demon's position. Thinking he possessed superior air maneuverability, the demon flew at his opponent. Using his speed, he again vanished and got behind the werebeast. Summoning a fireball in his hand, Aku started to launch it at his foe's back. Beast Boy spun in mid-air and used his legs to kick Aku up and send himself back to the ground simultaneously.**

**Aku grabbed his gut to lessen the pain from the kick as he recollected himself in midair. **_**This creature is fast and strong, but that's not the main problem here. It's those fighting instincts. I can't get a clear hit on him and he's primarily using the most vulnerable moments in my attacks to strike at me. I guess I'll need more power before I take him on again. I'll get that soon enough, and if we have to battle before then, my General will tip the scales in my favor. **_**He smirked. "Follow if you dare, but if you do I guarantee those three children will be in the greatest peril!" shouted Aku. He dove straight for the hole he has emerged from. Beast Boy lunged after him, but missed the demon as Aku escaped into the tunnel. His evil cackle echoed up in the passage.**

**Beast Boy transformed back into his true self. He looked over at the trio of observers. After walking over, he got onto one knee and spoke to them. "Are you three okay?"**

**Teether and Timmy Tantrum nodded, but Melvin just sat with her arms around her legs. The emotional shock of losing Bobby was still strong. Beast Boy looked over at the destroyed communicator. **_**What should I do? Take them to one of the bunkers? No, that might not be safe enough with that demon being underground. He might find them before any other Titans got there. **_**The green fighter closed his eyes for a moment. **_**I could take them to the Tower. I've seem to have excellent control over this new form now. I haven't felt those urges from my dreams in a while. Maybe I can go back as well. **_**He opened his eyes. "You three should come with me. I'll take you to Titans Tower; you'll be able to get back on your feet there."**

**The trio looked at the rescuer. Melvin asked, "We would see Raven right?"**

**Hearing the demi-demon's name, Beast Boy's ensuing smile seemed warmer than usual. "Yeah, now come on let's go."**

**As the four heroes began their trip, Beast Boy looked back at the tunnel. **_**As soon as I meet up with the others again, we need to get back here and check out that tunnel.**_

"…after we got back here, he seemed bothered by something. He mumbled something about some urge still being a problem. Right before he left, he told us he had a feeling you would be here in a few minutes and to wait here for you," concluded Melvin.

Before anyone could comment on the story Teether let out a very loud yawn. He curled up on the couch and started to fall asleep.

Robin spoke, "You three have been through a lot. Starfire, would you take them to one of the guest rooms?"

Starfire smiled and nodded. After she had escorted the three children out of the main room, Robin's face became more serious as he turned to face Cyborg, Raven, and Namash.

"Namash, if this Aku is supposed to be more powerful than Trigon, why would he have struggled so much in that fight? Something doesn't add up," Robin inquired.

"Judging from the story those three told, if it was the truth, Aku was faster and stronger. Despite that, it appears your green friend could anticipate his moves well enough to negate those advantages, but only in that specific chosen form."

Cyborg interjected. "Shouldn't we get going to that tunnel this demon went down?"

Namash replied, "No, that tunnel is probably abandoned now."

The trouble alert went off. Robin took charge. "We plan out a strategy later. Other people need our help right now." He went over to the screen and pulled up a video feed. The masked crusader turned to the Titan's guest.

"Namash, it looks like you'll be joining us on this mission. Aku's here in Jump City and causing havoc downtown."

The monk opened a window and flew off towards the city as the Titans headed to the garage.

As the Titans were on their way to the city, Raven's mind went over a detail from Melvin's story. _He left here because he was being troubled by some urges? What type of urge would Beast Boy be so worried about that he would leave in the manner that he did? Guess I'll have to figure that part out after we take care of this demon._

* * *

Aku floated in the air as he tossed a fireball onto a nearby school. Before the roof could be damaged to the point of collapse, the flames were snuffed out by a gust of downward wind. Namash landed on the rooftop shortly after.

Aku spoke with a snide tone. "Well, if it isn't the Azarathian. You're here way earlier than I thought you would be. I typically have most of a world conquered before you show up."

"Fate is with me this time. You lack your army slaves. Your powers won't enslave people to aid you this time," Namash scolded with hate seething throughout his being.

"You can never succeed. Your strength can never surpass mine." Aku's gaze shifted below and saw the Teen Titan evacuating the building. Without warning, the demon charged at Namash. At the same time, he breathed fire onto the building.

As Namash and Aku engaged in hand to hand combat in the skies above, the Teen Titans responded to citizens endangered by the burning building. Starfire and Robin searched through the building for anyone trapped by the flames or burning debris. Cyborg used his sonic cannon to deprive oxygen to segments of the fire as Raven opened the valves on nearby fire hydrants and directed the water at the building.

To Raven's right, Robin and Starfire brought the remaining citizens out of the building. To the sorceress's left, a girl could be seen a few more yards up the sidewalk. The building's roof segment above them gave way and started to fall toward them. Raven responded in time by putting up a shield above them. After the piece of concrete fell to the side of the shield, Raven looked at whom she had just rescued.

"Terra? Is that you?"

The blond girl shook her head. "Sorry my name is Tina Markov." After a pause she added, "Please don't try and convince me otherwise like Beast Boy did a few months ago."

The other three Titans had walked over to Raven and were in earshot when Tina answered their compatriot. Before another word was spoken, Namash had crashed into the ground beside them, clearly injured. Aku's voice rang out from above.

"You disappoint me Namash. After all our battles, you have no surprises for me." The dragon morph generated a ball of black fire in his palm. "Well then I guess this is where we finally say goodbye!" Aku hurled his bomb at the group.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." Raven countered by throwing the chunk of fallen roof at the fireball. With the projectile meeting the attack in midair, it was utterly destroyed, but the fireball was also no more.

_That aurora! Could it be? The tales of Trigon's permanent banishment were true. Hmm…I might have finally found a replacement for Namash, one that would take less of a toll on me as well. _Aku proclaimed, "Given how much I like to see you all suffer and fall into despair, I propose we meet at another time and place." With coy, he added, "After all, it would be rude of me to deny my General the opportunity to thoroughly test her new powers. Especially on those whom revenge would be the sweetest." The dragon humanoid took off into the sky, leaving the heroes to ponder the meaning of his words and departure when he appeared to have the upper hand.

* * *

Aku landed and walked into the abandoned mine he had made the base for his future assault on Jump City. He soon saw his newly appointed General. The demon gave his orders. "You have three weeks to prepare your army. It will take me that long to form the chains I will need to supplement my needs."

"As you command, Master."


	7. Old Face, New Terror

**Chapter 7: Old Face, New Terror**

Raven walked out of the infirmary and headed towards the Tower's main room. Upon entering she saw Robin starring out the window. The young mystic walked up the leader of the Teen Titans. "Namash is in a steady healing trance now. He'll probably be in one for a few more weeks. Aku really dealt him some serious damage. Luckily that Tina girl had some emergency medical training. Without the immediate care she gave when Aku left, Namash would be in even worse shape than he is now."

"Yeah, her having some first aid supplies in her backpack came in handy," Robin uttered half-heartedly.

"You're still pondering as to why Aku left, aren't you?"

"It doesn't make any sense. Why did he retreat when he had the upper hand? What is Aku planning to do in the time before we face him again? Who is this General of his and who would her revenge be sweetest upon? Aku seemed to imply it would be us. Between having some grudge against us and being female, it narrows the field, with some of those easily eliminated. Madame Rouge is still frozen. Arcane is still in jail. Jinx is on our side now."

"So who does that leave then?"

"The only other ones I can think of are Blackfire, Mother-Mae-Eye, Chesire, and Kitten. None them seem any more likely than the others. I guess I'll just need to develop four different strategies. I just hope Namash heals before Aku's next strike. We'll need his strength."

Raven looked out into the bay. _So which one of them is Aku's General? No matter whom his General is, if Namash had that much trouble facing Aku, then I should focus more on my training. If I can unlock this full demon form, we should have a better chance against Aku._

* * *

Aku looked over the vast army his general had made. "Excellent work. You are by far the best disciple I've ever had. I still need a few more days to complete forging these chains. In the meantime, why don't you go and give your army a few test runs. I'm sure you can find some suitable battles to warm things up."

The General's face broke out in a smile that showcased the dragon teeth she had acquire since her transformation.

* * *

Cyborg was cooking breakfast when Starfire came into the room with Silkie in her arms. The red haired Titan inquired, "Have you seen Raven this morning? I've searched the Tower to see if I could join her in mediation, but haven't found her."

"She went out to that desolate area again. Whatever training she's doing, she definitely wants to make sure no one is around in case her powers exert more damage than she intends."

Before Starfire could reply, the communication screen came up on the nearby computer. The onscreen display showed only wavy black and white static lines, while Bumblebee's voice came through in a broken fashion.

"This is Titans Eas-I repeat mayday. Tower is un-ack by an army of-. Need bac-." A loud crashing sound could be heard and then silence.

Cyborg rushed over to the screen. "Bee? Are you still there? Bee!"

The main door to the den opened as Robin rushed into the room. "What's going on?"

Cyborg replied, "Titans East is under attack, a massive one by the sounds of it."

"Then let's go!" ordered Robin.

* * *

The T-Ship landed on the pad on top the Titans East Tower. The tower itself was a complete wreck. Starfire spoke up.

"Looks like we were too late. Is anyone still here?"

"I still sense their presence," answered Raven.

The quartet of heroes made their way down the steps. At the bottom of the stairwell, they found an unconscious Speedy with Mas y Menos both knocked out beside him. Robin swiftly checked on their condition.

"They're hurt pretty bad, but they should pull through after we get them some help."

While Robin and Starfire worked on transporting their injured friends to the T-Ship, Raven and Cyborg went searching for Bumblebee and Aqualad. As they looked through the tower, signs of the battle were evident. Walls had been busted in, broken support beams were scattered throughout the building, and there were gaping holes in the upper floors.

The duo made it into the main room. They carefully walked around the broken glass from the disco lights. Cyborg quickly notice Bumblebee sprawled out on the couch. He knelt beside her and gently patted her cheek. "Yo, Bumblebee. Come on, call me Sparky or something." He stood up and dropped his hand to his side. "She's out cold."

Raven saw Aqualad on the ground by the broken sink. He was knocked out like the rest of the Titans East. _That's strange; he's practically covered in sludge. _After reaching theyoung hero of Atlantis, Raven reached down to further examine her finding. _More specifically, mud. Its color seems to be different than the rock this tower was built into. _Raven used her powers to levitate Aqualad as she turned to see Cyborg carrying Bumblebee in his arms.

"Cyborg, grab some of the rock debris around the Tower. I think Robin is going to want a closer look at it."

Cyborg, noticing the mud dripping off Aqualad, nodded. "Yeah, he might figure out where their attackers came from. They seemed to have dragged a lot of it around the Tower. It's definitely different than the earth the cliff is composed of, so it's a good lead."

* * *

Beast Boy, in the form of a pigeon, glided down and took perch on a lamp post near an electronic store in Liberty Township. He watched one of the televisions in the window as it broadcasted the day's news.

"In breaking news, the rash of assaults on heroes around the globe continues. Tabloids have said to find bystanders who have claimed to see a reptilian scaled humanoid flying near areas that were discovered later to have unconscious heroes. All claims thus far have been unverified, but authorities are aiding in any way possible to solving these mysterious attacks. Here are the latest victims." The screen showed pictures of Bushido, Argent, and Hot Spot.

_So that creature that attacked Melvin, Timmy, and Teether is after other heroes too. That dragon-morph seemed to match Namash's description of Aku Nefar. But why would he attempt to kill those three, but only wound everyone else. Something doesn't quite add up. Robin, Star, Cy, Raven, I hope you all are ready. This guy definitely isn't going to go down easy. He already moved out of that tunnel by the time I got back to it. Someone, whether it is one of you, me, or another hero will have to find a way to take this guy down. In the meantime I guess I should get back to finding a new outfit since all of mine are completely worn out._

* * *

Namash steadily made his way through the halls of Titans Tower. The Tower had turned into a small medical ward with all the young heroes who were receiving medical attention. _All these brave, young warriors are strong and passionate about justice. Still it isn't enough for them to be facing the power and might of Aku. I don't know how he managed to surpass me so much when we've been equals in battle for so long. Still, if he could accomplish it in such a short time, then so can I. I have too. Because I failed to stop him, all these young heroes are suffering unneeded injury._

Namash's thoughts were broken as voices could be heard from down the hall. They had carried all the way from Titans Tower's main room. Moments later, he entered the room.

Robin and Cyborg looked over in his direction. Cyborg spoke first.

"You're already healed?"

Robin added, "We didn't think you completely recuperate for another week or so."

"I'm fine. What is it that you two were talking about?" inquired the Azarathian Monk.

Robin answered. "Our discussion was about the samples we've been collecting from the sites our fellow Teen Titans were attacked. Some of the dirt and mud were from the surrounding area. Others were from previous attack sites."

"What about the first attack site?"

"That one was the strangest of all. There were so many different samples. Red clay, obsidian, sandstone, limestone, and gravel were just a few that came up during the analysis. None of which has given us a lead as to where Aku may be."

Namash advised, "Don't worry too much about finding him now. None of your friends are faring well in fighting him. He has grown much more powerful than when I last fought him. I will need to train more to increase my own strength so he can be defeated. Until then, avoidance of battle is the best strategy."

Cyborg retorted, "We're not the types to just sit around and wait when someone is out hurting innocents. We're the Teen Titans and we don't back down from any villain."

"If you're going to be that stubborn, I suggest you use more of your free time for training and not video games."

The facial expression across Cyborg's face clearly showed irritation. Robin cut in, "We take our training seriously. By taking time to rest, we allow our bodies to recover so we can train more strenuously than if we kept pushing through extreme fatigue."

Cyborg's body language softened a tad. "Speaking of strenuous training, is Raven back yet? She's been heading out to the desolate area frequently. She usually just meditates somewhere in the tower, but lately she's been heading all the way out there."

Robin answered, "Well she did tell us she's trying to develop a new ability instead of just keeping her powers under control. Raven wouldn't want to accidently destroy something or hurt someone as she trains."

Namash turned around to walk out of the room. "Well I can't say your hearts aren't in the right place. Still, if you refuse to follow my advice, you should expect the worse to come from it." _So even though I was in a healing trance, she decided to continue her training without my guidance. She was powerful enough to defeat Trigon. After I train and increase my power more, her strength could be enough to break the endless tie I always seem to battle him to. _Namash smiled at this thought as he left the room.

* * *

Raven took a drink from the water bottle she had packed while she rested in the shade of a cave entrance. _I still can't figure out what I'm supposed to feel when my emotions are in balance. I should have asked Namash more questions. A person can't be happy, sad, angry, irritated, relieved, and all other kinds of emotions in equal amounts at the same time. So what did he mean by having emotional balance? _The sound of her communicator broke her train of thought. Robin was on the other end of the line.

"Raven, we've got trouble at the cliff side rock quarry. Namash sensed Aku in that direction and took off ahead of us. We'll meet you up along the way."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

As the quartet of heroes arrived at the rock quarry, they witnessed Namash in the midst of an assault on the dragon-morph demon. Aku seemed to be toying with the monk, which only fueled the Azarathian's rage.

Namash swung his staff in an attempt to strike Aku, but the demon quickly soared higher to avoid the horizontal swipe. The monk quickly let go of the staff and hastily chanted. The Staff of Azarath suddenly burst into flames the size of a dump truck. With a mere gesture, Namash launched the flaming spear at Aku. The dragon-morph effortlessly knocked the spear aside, sending it towards the Teen Titans.

Raven was able to raise her shield only moments before the rapid projectile of fire crashed into their location. The ensuing explosion created a crater the size of baseball infield.

"Thanks Raven," said Cyborg.

"If those two keep this up, it will get out of hand fast and cause more damage than necessary," observed Robin.

"They seemed to have stopped fighting," Starfire noticed.

"I wish we could hear what they're saying, but we're too far away," replied Robin as Raven lowered her shield.

Aku looked down at the destruction in time to see Raven lower the shield that had saved her and her friends' lives. "She is really quite powerful, isn't she? I'd say Trigon's child is more powerful than you. With her power and the servitude of my new General, you have become disposable."

"What do you mean?" Namash spat out as he tried to recover from putting too much of his energy into the flaming spear.

"You still haven't figured it out? I noticed it the first time we battled after I killed your family to obtain their demonic power. Your hatred towards me was so strong, it actually fed my power. No matter how strong you got, you obtained those new levels of strength by hating me more. Thus you could never beat me. She's strong enough to last for years being bound to my energy draining chains, instead of a few hours like your wife and son. A source to feed my ever growing power and I don't even need to keep up a façade of battle. Since I have found a better source to drain and add to my own power, you are useless to me now."

Namash's eyes widened in shock. _All this time, I've been the main cause of him gaining so much power. What a fool I've been. But Aku recognizes that the halfling is more powerful than me. Maybe she can succeed where I failed._

Without warning, Aku Nefar took advantage of Namash being lost in his thoughts from the shock of the demon's revelation. Aku shot flames like a flamethrower from his left hand that knocked the Azarathian all the way to the ground below. As the Titans quickly made their way by his side, the monk started to feel a heat generating itself inside his body. "Listen to me, I don't have much time. Get out of here, all of you."

Cyborg interrupted, "You're going to be alright. We'll-"

Namash cut him off. "No, I can already feel his dark magic eating at my insides. My thirst for revenge made him too powerful. I couldn't stop him for good before I the time came for me to reunite with Feelesh and Ferno. You might stand a chance, but first you need to-" Namash started to shake uncontrollably. With his last bit of strength he summoned a blast of wind to put just enough distance between him and Teen Titans so they weren't consumed by the flames that promptly engulfed his entire body.

The quartet's attention was soon drawn to the sarcastic clapping of Aku as descended from the sky. "Now that's what I call a cremation," the demon mocked. "Don't worry; I won't do the same to any of you." He eyed Raven, "One of you has much to offer me, but that is in the near future. In regards to the here and now…"

The earth shook with remarkable force. Within seconds, the Teen Titans were surrounded by a hundred soldiers made from dirt, gravel, and rock. "…my General deserves to make you wish you were all dead." A column of soil rose in front of Aku. As the dirt fell to the ground, it revealed another dragon demon-morph. This demon-morph had blue eyes and scales the color of platinum blond hair. Her blue eyes scanned the four heroes. She then spoke.

"So did you all finally decide to ditch the green fool?"

Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and Raven all let a slimmer of shock show on their faces. Aku's General spoke in an all too familiar voice. Robin was the first to regain his composure.

"Beast Boy is on a solo mission right now. We'll just have to defeat you without our teammate, Terra."


	8. Demonized

**Chapter 8: Demonized**

Terra shoved her blond, scaled hands into the ground. About one hundred soldiers composed of earth emerged from the bottom of the rock quarry. They rose from the ground in a formation that surrounded the Teen Titans. Terra grinned maniacally as she spoke. "Not only did the spell of 'Aka Manah Chi' set me free, but it also increased my power to greater heights than it has ever been. Now it's time for you to experience the horror of an inescapable fate! EEE-YA!" As Terra started to levitate as she gave her battle cry shout, the faceless soldiers charged towards the Teen Titans.

Robin glanced over at Cyborg and gave a signal for an initial attack. The masked crusader then jumped and had one foot land into Cyborg's waiting hands. As Robin prepared to jump again, Cyborg launched his friend straight up into the air to give him an extra boost to extend the vertical range of the jump. Robin let loose an array of exploding disks in all directions, destroying most of the initial wave of dirt soldiers. As he landed, the leader of the Teen Titans promptly queried Raven. "Do you know anything about that 'Aka Manah Chi' spell Terra just mentioned?"

After tossing a steam shovel into some of Terra's underlings, Raven replied. "I don't know of it specifically. But, chi is considered to be universal energy and Aka Manah is a spirit of corruption in Zoroastrian lore. I would wager that it's some sort of dark magic spell. Dark magic is powerful, in theory it could have released her when none of my spells worked. But there's always a price to be paid for using its power."

As Robin nodded in acknowledgement to what Raven said, he surveyed the battlefield. He noticed that when any of the Titans destroyed a soldier, another appeared near the back of the enemy lines. In the short amount of time they had after Starfire cleared away more of the soldiers with her bolts and Cyborg with his sonic cannon, Robin conveyed his observations. "We're getting nowhere this way. We need to find a way to attack Terra. If we don't defeat her, she'll just keep making these dirt warriors until we tire ourselves out."

Cyborg quickly replied, "So what's the plan?"

"We need to split up and spread out. That way we divide her attention to four separate battlefields. When she gets too focused on one, one of the other three will take a shot at taking her out. Everybody got that?" The other three Titans nodded. "Alright, Teen Titans, Go!"

High in the sky, Aku Nefar observed the battle as he pondered the brief conversation Terra had with the Teen Titans. _So there's another member of this group who has green skin and is named Beast Boy. That green shape shifter I fought earlier, he changed into all types of animals and beasts. There can't be that many warriors who have green skin on this planet. My opportunity for a rematch appears to be sooner that I would have imagined. _The demon glanced over at his General. Terra seemed to be at her limits as she attempted to control her creations on four different battlefields. The mayhem of all the battlefields combined made the battle between the four Titans and Slade's robots at Terra's initial betrayal seem like a walk in the park. Aku used his speed to promptly get behind Terra.

"Change of plans my General. Instead of just beating your foes to within an inch of their life, we'll capture and torture them."

Terra gave an obvious questioning expression towards her superior.

Aku responded, "I intend to use all of them to draw out this green warrior you spoke of. If he is the one who challenged me a little while ago, then I don't want to pass up the opportunity to make him see his friends suffer."

Terra smirked and hastily descended towards the battleground. _Who should I spite first? The naïve alien? Mr. Know-It-All Leader? Ego maniac robotic man? _Terra's gaze shifted towards Raven. _Ah yes, the grumpy, judgmental creep. I choose YOU!_

While they were engaged in their own battles, Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg saw Terra bolt for Raven's location. Each promptly dispatched the three to five foes surrounding them before they attempted start a counter attack on Terra. No sooner had they begun their rush towards Terra, each was captured separately in an orange-yellow sphere of energy. The spheres were soon huddled together in front of Aku.

The demon taunted, "Now, now, you'll have your turn at pain and suffering soon enough."

Cyborg punched his sphere prison in an attempt to break free, but grimaced in pain from the impact his fist made on the sphere's surface.

Robin sat and tried to think through the situation. _What is Aku's goal? He captured us so easily. Why not just imprison us at the beginning? His plans could give insights to weaknesses he's trying to compensate for. If I could just figure out his plan, we could figure out a strategy that would work._

Starfire watched the battle that was commencing between Terra and Raven. Terra had foregone using her soldiers and was battling Raven directly.

"Ahh, don't tell me you're getting mad because you're losing to someone you gave up on," mocked Terra in a condemning tone as she hurled some boulders that Raven easily dodged.

Raven replied as she launched some of the nearby machinery at Terra. "No one gave up on you. Robin and Cyborg ran countless analysis in hopes of finding a way to reverse you petrifaction. I cast every spell I came across that wasn't dark magic. Except for when we were fighting the Brotherhood of Evil around the world, Beast Boy visited at least once a week. The dark magic corrupted your perspective to free you from-"

"The 'Aka Manah Chi' spell gave me clarity. There were always limits to kindness you all gave me. You couldn't beat me without sacrificing your kindness. Slade was only kind when I was winning; you all were only kind when you were more powerful than me. No one cared for me unless it was convenient for them, but couldn't bear to speak the truth. At least Aku is honest about giving me power to use me. Others only cared when they were more powerful or could control me. Well, now it's my turn to control!"

Raven couldn't repress the memory of Beast Boy defending Terra after her surprise attack on them as they were cruising in the T-car or how Beast Boy seemed to be at wits end when he thought Tina Markov was Terra. The hesitation Raven had as she attempted to quell the anger she felt swelling inside her made her oblivious to the sound of chains approaching from behind her. By the time she felt and heard shackles click around her wrists and ankles, it was too late. As Raven started to faint from having her energy drained from her through the chains, she turned to see Aku Nefar holding them. Moments later she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Wearing a new red and white outfit, Beast Boy was walking along the streets of Iron City, a metropolis about fifty miles south of Steel City. _Ever since I woke up today, I can't shake this feeling that something dreadful has happened. Why do I feel this way? Why won't it just go away? _His attention was drawn to a radio broadcast at a nearby newsstand.

"-and now some breaking news from Jump City. Two reptilian humanoids have been terrorizing the city for the past couple of days. It is rumored that the two creatures have captured the Teen Titans and are holding them for some unknown reason at a nearby rock quarry. Nearby cities and townships are in a panic that the creatures will soon come to their neighborhoods next with the rumors of the Teen Titans defeat gaining credence due to their noticeable absence…"

Beast Boy turned and walked into a local park. He sat down on a bench and dropped his head so his face was covered by his hands. _What am I going to do? When I got to the Tower with Teether, Timmy, and Melvin, I was surprised I could pick up Raven's scent without being in any of my animal forms. It was terrifying how just the scent of her drawing closer was so…so intoxicating that I could feel my inner beast getting excited. That same beast kept ensnaring Raven in my dreams. If that reptilian creature is the same one I fought earlier, I'll only have a chance in my new beast mode. What if those instincts become uncontrollable while I'm in that form? How much danger would I be putting Raven and the others in if I couldn't change back after winning? _Beast Boy exhaled. "On the other hand, I have a really good guess at what will happen if I don't try." With a firm resolve, the green hero stood up, transformed into a falcon, and took off for Jump City.

* * *

Raven lied on her side on the ground of a circular platform. The enchanted chains shackled to her neck, wrist, and ankles keeping her drained of any magical energy she could muster. Her teammates were still in their sphere prisons across the quarry pit from her. As the sun rose to signify the start of another day, the shadow of her captor crept onto the platform.

Aku Nefar placed his left hand on the glimmering rod at the center of the platform that Raven's chains connected to. "You even surprise me at how you're still able to have this rod fill up from your drained energy after all these days. Your minimum daily output far exceeded even my expectations. It's no wonder you were able to defeat Trigon. For a demon, your level of energy would be rare, but considering you're only a half-demon it is truly exceptional." The dragon humanoid's eyes glowed as he absorbed the power the chains had drained from Raven. "Yes, this is so much more efficient than absorbing the energy of Namash's pure hatred for me. Since his emotions weren't directly tied to his power, those feelings had to be at their peak for me to absorb any trace of that power. You on the other hand have a direct connection, which allows the cursed chains to drain you with me barley having to lift a finger."

Aku heard the ground behind him begin to part. "Back so soon from your morning terror spree my-" he began to say as he turned around. Emerging from the ground was a beaten and thoroughly bruised Terra.

The blond, scaled female muttered as she rested on one knee, "He's gonna pay for that."

"What happened to you?" demanded Aku.

Terra answered, "I was enjoying terrorizing a school. When I was in the school's side yard, I even found someone who looks like I used to before you freed me. My fire breath was about halfway on its path to maiming her when I got smacked in my side by a ram's head. It was the most moronic one of these so called heroes."

"The one the masked boy called Beast Boy?" Aku inquired.

"Yes master," Terra confirmed.

At Terra's answer, Raven's eyes opened a tad more. _Strange, I feel a little uplifted knowing Beast Boy is back. I know the atmosphere at the Tower has been a little downcast since he left, but I never thought just hearing that Garfield is back would make me feel a little bit…a little bit…happier. _The Azarathian's attention was drawn back to Terra as the bruised fighter continued her tale.

"I openly mocked him about how he probably thought he was saving me, given how much the girl resembles what I looked like when I was a pitiful human. He was always a sentimental dope…"

_That 'Aka Manah Chi' spell really warped her mind. Given the conviction she speaks with now, Terra's probably been too corrupted by the dark magic to turn back_,pondered Raven as she continued to listen.

"…Turns out the revelation given to me by Aka Manah was true though. He cared nothing for me. After figuring out I'm Terra faster than I would have thought for his stupidity, he didn't hold back at all. Beast Boy even used some creature I couldn't identify. A form I couldn't touch no matter how much land I used."

Before Terra could continue her tale, a thunderous ruckus sounded from rock quarry's entrance.

Aku cackled with delight. "So, he's already here."

A half dozen dirt soldiers were thrown back from the entrance and crashed into the ground in front of the demon, dragon humanoid. Standing triumphantly from the scuffle was Beast Boy in his evolved werebeast form. The green hero scanned the rock quarry. To his right he saw the sphere prisons three of his friends were trapped in, propped up on columns as if they were trophies. To his left he saw the bruised and beaten Terra on one knee next to the imposing presence of Aku. Behind them, he noticed the extremely weakened and chained Raven. The werebeast clenched both his hands into fists to keep his intensifying anger under control.

"That would be the creature I couldn't touch," informed Terra. Aku responded by slightly levitating off the ground, before exploding towards his opponent.

As the demon swiftly closed the gap between him and his adversary, he used his forward momentum to increase the velocity of his upcoming right handed punch. _If the creature fights like he did last time, he'll dodge my punch at the absolute last moment and strike my most vulnerable area. So, I'll just purposely leave my right side completely unguarded. Then a few seconds after he vanishes, turn my head and breathe a wide spray of fire to sear him. _Aku's fist was seconds away from contact with Beast Boy's face. _Here it comes._

The werebeast's left claw clamped around Aku's right wrist, shocking the demon in surprise. The green fighter then used Aku's momentum to lift him up, over his head, and slam him into the ground. Without hesitation, Beast Boy connected with a right fist of his own to Aku's right shoulder mere moments after Aku crashed into the ground. The combined force of Aku being slammed into the ground, followed by the werebeast's punch made the entire quarry feel like it was shaking from an earthquake. Beast Boy jumped and spun horizontally in the air to narrowly avoid a boulder that had been hurled at his back by Terra.

_Looks like I was right about my General being able to help tip the scales of battle in my favor. That attack didn't hit, but he won't be able to outlast two demons of our level of power for very long _Aku reflected as he promptly got to his feet.

"GO BB!" shouted Cyborg from his entrapment as Starfire was speechless at what she was witnessing and Robin was busy trying to follow the fight that was happening at super human speed. Raven even had a faint smile despite her exhausted state.

With Terra giving aid to Aku, Beast Boy was mostly kept on a dodging defensive. While Aku and Terra couldn't manage to land any hits, the werebeast was able to be successful on some of his attacks. Just none of the attacks connected with full force because he had to start dodging motions as he started to land his offensive strikes. Most of Beast Boy's punches and kicks were only slightly more effective than glancing hits. Even with the werebeast's minimum progress in the fight, Aku's lack of success was starting to infuriate him.

"Okay you annoying feral simpleton, let's see how you handle powers I have fully digested and added to my own since our last battle!" Confidently, Aku started to manifest flames of hundreds of different shades of colors. His expression soon turned to shock. "NO! IT CAN'T BE!" The flames shot up into the sky against Aku's will. "Any creature of energy or matter manipulation cannot gain or be given a conscience of its own. As an energy creation I should be able to manipulate you into what I WANT!"

As the flames flickered and faded, Bobby emerged.

"But apparently that little girl is the first to ever be able to give energy creations a conscience of their own. Even if the creator's ties are broken, the creature can live on and not have its structural bonds completely destroyed," commented an astonished Aku. "Thus I would have never been able to reuse your powers in another form," he added angrily.

Bobby started to descend and if not for Aku's demonic speed, would have landed a body slam of greater force than the punch Beast Boy had used for his initial attack in the current battle. Before Bobby could stand up from his unsuccessful attack, Terra swarmed him with a tidal wave of rocky soil and temporarily buried him up against the wall of the rock pit.

_My General kept that attack from back firing. Even with her aid, this filthy green creature still has the upper hand. It will only get a lot worse if I can't finish this before that giant bear digs itself out. If only there were a way to make this Beast Boy willingly take an attack full force. _Aku's three eyes glanced over at to see how much power his chains had drained from Raven to the center rod. Given the fight had been going on for about twenty minutes and Aku had just taken the power the chains had drained a little over twenty-five minutes ago, there had been no substantial power drain. _I can't get any more power from her at the current moment. She's not of much use to me at the moment. _ His eyes widened as an idea came to him. _Or is she?_

Aku used a speed burst to grab Terra and position the two of them so they were close to the entrance of the rock quarry with the gate to their back. Sensing something was amiss, Beast Boy stopped his movements. The werebeast was now standing in the middle of main rock pit. Directly to his left and his enemies' right were Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire. Directly far behind the werebeast was the pile of soil that was temporarily keeping Bobby out of the fight. Slightly behind Beast Boy, but off to his far right was Raven.

Aku's face now beamed with a villainous smirk. "I wasn't able to use the energy that constitutes that bear. But, I can use this!" New flames began to form between Aku Nefar's hands. These flames were completely black except of an outlining white line. Identical to how objects looked when Raven was manipulating them with her powers.

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow in confusion. Not at seeing flames manifested in a manner that clearly showed he had stolen some of Raven's power, but because the werebeast sensed no intention that Aku would send the attack his way.

The dragon-morph demon swiftly pivoted and hurled his barrage of flames directly at the completely defenseless Raven.

Despite the incredible speed the flames were heading towards her, the impending moment of impact seem to agonizingly inch its way towards fruition. With the attack only a few yards away, Raven's vision was blocked by the furry, green back of the werebeast. When the obsidian colored flames collided with Beast Boy's frontal frame, sounds of popping and crackling like wood in a campfire were clearly audible. At the end of the onslaught, the werebeast sunk to one knee. Although he didn't turn around to face Raven, she could see smoke rising from his body. She attempted to tell him to not waste time blocking attacks aimed at her, but the pressure from her neck shackle made talking too difficult.

Beast Boy abruptly gripped the ground with his hands and feet, tensing his whole body in preparation for another impact from projectiles Raven couldn't see. The dust cloud that was enveloping the werebeast made it clear the latest round of projectiles were rocks. Soon, the Azarathian couldn't see Beast Boy being a live shield from the thickness of the dust. Soon the sounds of the bombardment of rocks hitting the werebeast ceased and the dust began to settle. As the particles of dirt in the air cleared away, Beast Boy's body became visible. He was no longer in his werebeast form. Beast Boy had transformed back his normal state, but was now unconscious, laying face down in a pool of his own blood.

Raven stared at her fallen protector. _NO, Beast Boy! Please get up..._

Aku had started to form a single, monstrous black flame. Terra interrupted her master. "Please Master, let me. I need to correct a mistake I made a while back." The blond scaled demon gathered a tremendous amount of gravel from the rock pit and started to form a giant stalactite about twenty yards directly above Beast Boy. It was reminiscent of the one Slade used her powers to form before Terra decided to turn it against Slade. This stalactite was growing into a larger size than one that Slade had made.

Understanding what Terra intended to do, Aku simply ceased generating his attack and nodded to give her his approval. Raven felt a ludicrous amount of dread as she helplessly saw the stalactite being formed.

_Beast Boy, you need to wake up. Please, you can't die here. I don't want you to lose you, especially like this. _Tears started to trickle out at the corner of Raven's eyes. Her body trembled as she made a feeble attempt to make her exhausted body move to help Beast Boy. When her body failed to move, she closed her eyes as a steady stream of tears began to flow. _Curse you Garfield; you never stopped sticking your nose where it didn't belong. I wouldn't be feeling this emotional if you hadn't been so curious and looked up my birthday or gone into my mind-. _Raven's eyes suddenly flew open as a memory flooded back to the forefront of her mind.

"**Maybe not alone, but what about together? They're all a part of who you are right?" encouraged Beast Boy as Raven attempted to give up in her fight against her inner manifestation of Trigon.**

_I have to try; if I don't then I'll lose Beast Boy forever._ Raven prepared each of her emotions to contribute power to her attempt to save Beast Boy at the same time. After gathering all sides of herself together, she quickly acknowledged each one separately to make sure she had all of them. _There's Happy and Brave, Timid and …_

Terra looked up at her finished stalactite. It was about a yard wide at the top and three yards in height. The tip of the formation was sharper than a brand new sewing needle. "Too bad you won't be awake to experience the pain of death like you would have back then. O well, I guess killing you while you're unconscious will have to do." Terra made a violent, downward gesture with her hand that sent the rock spike plummeting towards Beast Boy.

Raven at that moment had reached the final two emotions she had to recognize and consciously admit as a part of her. _…There's my rage and my feelings of-. _The last Azarathian nervously exhaled right before she acknowledged the only emotion she was more hesitant to give into than her anger. As she consciously recognized it, she felt the most cheerful uplifting sensation she had ever felt before wash over her. _–LOVE_

With the instrument of Beast Boy's death mere inches from his heart, it was obliterated by a white light that exploded from the platform that held Raven captive. The energy of the white light rammed Terra and Aku Nefar up against the quarry's framed entrance way. As the light rescinded, the shackles that had bound Raven and the platform were nowhere to be seen. Raven had knelt over Beast Boy to check and see if he was still alive. He was alive, but in critical condition. Relieved to find him alive, Raven stood and pivoted so her gaze fixated upon her two adversaries.

Her hooded cape was still her favorite shade of blue; the rest of her clothing had turned to an immaculate white. Raven's hair had grown out so it came to just barely rest on her shoulders. Her teeth were all carnivorous, appearing exactly as they had during her the semi-demonic transformation she had in the Teen Titans' first battle with Dr. Light. The pupils and irises of her eyes had turned from a circular to a diamond shape.

Terra quickly tested Raven's full demonic form. The blond scaled dragon-morph launched shrapnel sized rocks at Raven and the vulnerable Beast Boy. Raven's eyes glowed the same shade of blue as her cape as used her energy manipulation powers. The energy Raven controlled was now white with a distinct black outline, a complete inverse from its usual visual manifestation. She didn't even need to use hand gestures or verbal incantations. Without moving a physical muscle, her energy took the form of numerous tentacles and destroyed all the incoming shrapnel. The sheer ease at which she protected Beast Boy and herself astonished even Aku Nefar.

Raven counter attacked by having all the energy appendages come together to form a white raven that was larger than the one she used to defeat Trigon. The Azarathian levitated as she sent the white energy raven flying towards Aku and Terra at light speed. The white energy raven engulfed the duo, and condemned them to Trigon's fate.

Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire were freed when their prison spheres vanished moments after Raven's victory. The trio wasted no time as they made their way towards their friends.

Raven felt her demonic state taking a similar toll on her as the cursed chains had. She transformed back to her normal state. After her hair shortened to its previous length and her clothes, eyes, and teeth had returned to their original state, the wave of exhaustion returned and overwhelmed her. Raven began to fall towards the ground, too exhausted to descend at a controlled pace. Before her freed friends could even begin to worry, Bobby emerged from entrapment and gently caught the young sorceress.


	9. The Demon and the Beast

**Chapter 9: The Demon and the Beast**

The sun had been up for a couple of hours when Starfire walked into the Titans Tower common room with Silkie in her arms. Robin was over at the main computer, checking for any criminal activity in the city. Cyborg was over at the breakfast nook, wolfing down some bacon and eggs while he conversed with Bumblebee.

"Thanks for agreeing to stay here for a few days," said Cyborg in between food inhales. "Are you sure things won't get too crazy without you at Titans East for a few days?"

"Relax Sparky, Aqualad will keep things running smoothly. Plus, those three kids and the colossal living teddy bear that they were so happy to see will make up for any lack of firepower my absence would have made. Whose idea was it for me to stick around anyways? I don't mind helping out, but I don't see why you need me here."

"Having you stay here for a few days was my idea. As for the reason why…"

Bumblebee gave Cyborg a playful scowl for him to continue as he started to trail off.

"…You're the excuse as to why Raven won't need to come with us if an alarm goes off."

Bumblebee's face developed a sly, amused smile as she replied, "So she's there when Beast Boy wakes up during his recovery."

"You got it. When we got back from the battle with Aku a couple days ago, a lot of Honorary Titans were still in our medical bay and the overflow area we had converted BB's room into. I was a little surprised when Raven suggested we set-up an extra bed in her room for him to rest in, but I didn't see any point in questioning it. I did come up with the excuse that we should avoid unnecessary complications by attempting to move him when space in the medical bay opened up."

"So Sparky is trying to fan some loving sparks and play cupid," teased Bumblebee.

"You don't need any type of cutting edge computer dating service when you got Cy on your side!"

* * *

It was a little past supper when Beast Boy's eyes gently opened. As he attempted to stretch as he awoke from his recovery slumber, the green hero felt something resting on his stomach. Glancing in that direction he noticed Raven slumped over in a chair, resting her sleeping head in her arms on his stomach. The top half of his red and white suit was hanging on the back of the chair.

_Either I'm dreaming, or I'm back in Titans Tower. If I'm back in the Tower that must mean we won._

Taking in more of his surroundings, Garfield was surprised to see that he was in Raven's room. _Or maybe I really am dreaming. _Beast Boy reached out and gently stroked Raven's hair. "I don't think I'm dreaming. All of this feels way too real. Plus, if I was dreaming I would probably be having those nightmares," he said to himself.

Upon mentioning his nightmares to himself, Beast Boy started to feel a little uneasy about being so close to Raven. _I should probably think of a way to get out of here before those urges start arising. Maybe I could…_

He trailed off as his looked over at Raven's bookshelf. On the top shelf, he saw the origami turtle he had made her right before he left to try and get control of his new werebeast form. Beast Boy was stunned at seeing the bound manuscript next to paper art. _That's my old journal! But when did she…how did she…_

The sound of yawning coupled with the lifting of the weight from his abdomen brought Beast Boy's attention back to Raven. A tiny smile graced the Azarathian's face when she realized Beast Boy had woken.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

_Wow, I never realized how much I missed hearing her voice _thought Beast Boy before he promptly realized he needed to answer her question. "Like a comedian at an open mike night."

Raven rolled her eyes in mild annoyance. After a moment of awkward silence, she notice Beast Boy kept glancing over at her bookshelf. Following his gaze, she saw it focused on the journal he had written years ago. She answered Beast Boy's unasked question.

"We found that in possession of the scientist who gave those werebeast transformation injections to Adonis and Mammoth."

"And you read it, thinking it might be evidence to what that scientist was doing?"

"No, the scientist, Dr. Anima, mentioned that he was trying to duplicate the transformation powers you developed. It was illegible from getting wet, so I cast a spell so Cyborg and I could find out what was in it. We thought we might find something to help you since you had just left to get control of your new werebeast form."

"I still don't have enough control."

"You seemed to have a great amount of it when you were fighting Aku. What is it about your transformation that worries you so much? What do you feel is still beyond your control? Who are you afraid of hurting?" asked Raven. The sincerity of her worry for Beast Boy was absolutely clear in her voice tone.

Beast Boy gazed intently at his hands as he tried to think how he should describe the nightmares and instincts he was so worried about. His was drawn out of his contemplation by Raven's hands gently wrapping around his own. He had never heard Raven use such a tender emotional tone when she spoke her next words. "Garfield, please tell me."

He told her everything. He describe in precise detail his nightmares that always ended with him biting her after either pinning her down or wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't escape. The urges he felt to do so when he started to be in her vicinity for a while. He explained the primal feeling to annihilate the Adonis and Mammoth werebeasts that threatened her. Above all else, Beast Boy conveyed how the thought of him biting and harming Raven terrified him.

"I don't think your instincts are telling you to harm me. Anything you've ever done in your werebeast form, whether the original one or your evolved one, which involved me, always seems to be about protecting me from something. Could there be another reason why you're having urges to act on your dreams and bite the area where my neck meets my shoulder?" the sorceress questioned.

"Maybe, but I can't think of any reason an animalistic instinct to bite would involve the intention of inflicting harm," he answered.

Raven's quick mind recalled the conversation she had with Namash about the bite mark near his shoulder. "A few days before Aku killed Namash, the monk was telling me about his wife after I asked him about a bite mark in the same area where you've been getting the urge to bite me. He told me how the bite mark was his wife's way of marking him as her mate." Raven's face was progressively getting redder as a blush deepened in her cheeks. With her cheeks a rosy red, she leaned into the crook of Beast Boy's neck and softly whispered, "Do you want to claim me as your mate?"

The green hero initially tried to dodge her question. "I'm not a demon. I can change my DNA so I transform into others animals. I don't know of any animals that claim mates by-"

Raven cut him off. "But you're not limited to just animals on Earth. You changed into that watchdog type creature on Tamaran. It's not impossible that some animals on some planet claim mates that way." After pausing for a moment, Rachel Roth firmly, but gently, whispered her question again. "Do you want to claim me as your mate?"

Again Beast Boy tried to avoid a direct answer. "I wouldn't want to force something like that against your-"

Raven, with her head still in the crook of Beast Boy's neck, closed her eyes to help her maintain her emotional composure. "If I wanted to be your mate, would you want to claim me as yours?"

The sorceress felt Beast Boy's pulse quicken through her cheek that was pressed against his neck. After about a minute, his pulse returned to normal. She then felt his arms encircle and pull her into an embrace. Garfield replied, "I do…I mean I would...I mean…what if you're wrong? What if-"

Beast Boy stopped speaking as Raven used her powers to take over her hooded cloak and lay it on top of Beast Boy's top uniform half that was on the chair she had been sitting on. Since she was using her powers, she didn't have to break Garfield's embrace, but did lean her head a little off his shoulder for the brief moment it took to remove the cloak. At her normal voice volume, but in a much gentler tone than her usual analytical, distant, and matter-of-fact style, she said, "Go ahead and bite me. I trust you."

Raven felt fur start to grow on Beast Boy's muscular chest. She was surprised to feel the claw points of his hands retract as the firmness of Garfield's hold tightened. It wasn't painful, but did seem to brace her for the impending bite. Beast Boy firmly, but tenderly sunk his teeth into Raven's left shoulder. She let out a slight gasp.

Beast Boy still held enough of his human consciousness to be shocked when Raven followed her gasp with a soft moan of bliss. Instead of losing control of her powers and accidently causing destruction from the sudden outburst of uncontrolled emotion, Raven began changing into her pure demon form. Mere moments after Beast Boy had bitten Raven, her eye's pupils and irises' shifted from a circular to diamond shape. Her teeth changed to her carnivorous, demonic form. Raven's eyes glowed blue right before she sunk her teeth into Beast Boy's left shoulder.

When he felt Raven bite him in the same fashion, Beast Boy felt a strange sensation throughout his entire body. He couldn't explain it, but it was if he could sense her emotions. Like he knew that from here on out, despite whatever façade she might put up, he would always know what she was feeling. Instinctively, he knew that she could now sense his feelings in the same manner.

They drew away from each other simultaneously. Their shoulder wounds were both fairly superficial, but would still leave a noticeable scar. Beast Boy had a big, dopey smile appear on his face as he saw a faint grin grace Raven's lips. He now noticed for the first time that Raven had transformed into her full demonic form. With his blanket white eyes, he took it all in. The pristine white clothing, the diamond eyes, her now barely shoulder length hair, and even her carnivorous teeth all had a captivating appeal to the morphing hero. He subconsciously stroked her hair ever slow slightly.

"Raven, why don't we-" started to speak as he was transforming back from his evolved werebeast form.

"My name is Rachel," Raven interrupted as she returned to her human form.

Beast Boy shot a questioning look at Raven.

"Garfield, my birth name is Rachel."

Beast Boy eyes glistened in understanding.

"Rachel, you want to get some breakfast for dinner?

"Breakfast sounds…nice."

* * *

Beast Boy was eating his second plate of tofu eggs while Raven sipped on some herbal tea. On the table was a note left by the other Titans.

_Beast Boy and Raven,_

_Robin, Starfire, Bumblebee, and I are heading out to the movies to the see __The Beauty and the Beast__. Starfire saw an ad for Disney Movies on TV, so Robin thought we could take her to see one of the classics. We should be back around eleven or so tonight, if we don't meet up sooner to kick bad guy butt. _

_See you then,_

_-Cyborg_

"So what do you want to do now?" asked Garfield.

Raven looked across the table at Beast Boy. "Let's go outside and stargaze."

* * *

The new couple rested in each other's arms as they looked up at the crystal clear sky from the roof of Titans Tower. Raven had her usual calm demeanor as she appreciated the beauty of the night sky. Beast Boy had his usual laid back, relaxed persona. The two were quite comfortable on the blanket they laid on. Between the two though, they sensed the immeasurable flow of happiness and content they felt the other experiencing through the bond they now shared.

Garfield and Rachel never ever heard or noticed the return of the other Titans. The duo would fall asleep and spend the night sleeping on the ground blanket. Their caring, sometimes paradoxical relationship would only grow deeper in love with characteristics to it as unique as mating bonds of animals and demons. It would be the unique loving relationship of Raven and Beast Boy, of Garfield Logan and Rachel Roth, of the Demon and the Beast.


End file.
